Everyone knows how grueling the tax filing process can be, so the accounting software company Open Ledger has launched a new product to make the process more fun. If you grew up loving Pokemon, PokéTax will make Tax Day feel like a breeze. Open Ledger launches PokéTax Open Ledger is the latest venture from Pryce Adade-Yebesi, the entrepreneur who previously co-founded Utopia Labs, a crypto invoicing startup that was recently sold to Coinbase. His new company, co-founded with Ashtyn Bell, builds embedded accounting tools for small businesses and recently raised $3 million
Topicals founder and CEO Olamide Olowe and its president Sochi Mbadugha have acquired Bread Beauty Supply through their holding company, Cost of Doing Business (CODB), which they launched in 2024. The financial details of the deal were not disclosed. According to Business of Fashion, CODB plans to grow Bread Beauty Supply’s retail presence in the US, beginning with an expansion into more Sephora stores. Topicals and Bread: Two Visionary Black-Owned Brands Topicals is a Black-owned skincare brand founded by Olowe in 2020. It has gained prominence for its products that
Target’s foot traffic has fallen for the ninth consecutive week amidst its 40-day boycott, as stated by Retail Brew. The company’s traffic started to plummet in the first whole week after it shared that it was rolling back its DEI efforts. In March, the retailer announced that it would end its DEI programs, including its Racial Equity Action and Change (REACH) initiative and a program focused on carrying more products from Black—or minority-owned businesses. Target’s chief community impact and equity officer, Kiera Fernandez, sent a memo to staff stating, “Many
The Trump administration is urging some large companies in the EU to comply with executive orders to end DEI programs. Government officials have allegedly sent letters to companies in France and the European Union with US government contracts, stating that they should ban DEI initiatives if they want to hold on to their contracts, according to The Financial Times. “Department of State contractors must certify that they do not operate any programs promoting DEI that violate any applicable anti-discrimination laws and agree that such certification is material for purposes of
Krisp, a noise cancellation app, announced that it will launch an AI tool to convert a speaker’s accent to American English, starting with Indian accents. The company says the AI Accent Conversion will change a person’s accent with a 200ms latency, which Krisps calls “an imperceptible delay in conversations,” whilst maintaining the speaker’s voice, according to The Verge. The tool has already been trialed in enterprise environments, and a beta version will be available on the Krisp desktop app. Users can use the tool at any time during or before
Over the past year, we’ve seen no shortage of deception: some of it clever, some of it outrageous, and some of it deeply revealing. We’ve seen fake identities used to expose bias, deepfakes spread like wildfire, and high-profile figures go to great lengths to hide the truth (or rewrite it entirely) From a lying ex-husband and cross-country Uber pranks to investor fraud, corporate lawsuits, and social media misinformation, here are ten stories to catch up on this April Fools’ Day. 1. 10 years for scamming investors – or not Carlos
On March 11, 2025, United Negro College Fund (UNCF) partnered with TikTok to champion HillmanTok University for using social media to transform education and motivate the Black community. HillmanTok at Capitol Hill HillmanTok educators like Dr. Leah Barlow, Shyia Simmon, CPA Thurman Brooks, Gyllian Carter, Kyra Brown, and Denise Francis went to Capital Hill in Washington, DC, for a special reception to commemorate the educators and meet with members of Congress, according to a TikTok news release viewed by AFROTECH. “UNCF is proud to partner with TikTok to amplify the transformative
On Thursday, March 27, South Africa launched the first phase of a smart city development in Shongweni, outside Durban. The development, which is called Westown, is expected to attract around R15 billion ($822 million) in private-sector investment over the next 10 to 15 years and produce over 23,000 jobs. The initial phase is part of a wider project that includes, includes retail, housing, and healthcare facilities, according to Mybroadband. Transforming the development trajectory of the region Themba Masimula, senior project manager from the eThekwini Municipality’s Catalytic Projects Uni, told Mybroadband
The Nigerian fintech Payhippo, which previously provided SME loans, has rebranded to RIVY and raised $4 million in a pre-Series A funding round to focus on increasing clean energy financing in the continent. The funding was split between $2 million equity and $2 million debt. The seed round was co-led by EchoVC, a Nigerian venture capital (VC) firm through its $2.5 million Eco fund, which focuses on climate, energy, agriculture, and mobility solutions, and Shell’s All On, a climate-focused impact investment organization. Local debt providers supplied the debt. “Renewable energy is
Vince Martin, Founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Upsides Network LLC, has announced the launch of his new platform, BlackShares. The platform aims to bring the Black community together for social and professional networking, as stated in a press release. The company is calling for a boycott of X, Threads, Bluesky, and LinkedIn and suggests switching to BlackShares to support a Black-owned platform instead. The platform will allow experts to be paid for their knowledge, encouraging wealth within the Black community. Putting money back into the community Black consumers’ collective economic
