Kansas City recently mourned the death of Edward Chow, who died at the age of 83 due to lung cancer. For many, the Black army veteran turned tech entrepreneur is a pioneer; one of a few Black men working in the computer tech industry at his time. Who Is Edward Chow? Edward grew up in Greenville, Mississippi, during the 1930s. Born to a Black mother and Chinese father, Edward and his siblings were no strangers to racial discrimination After serving in the military as a machine account supervisor, where he
South Africa will become the latest country to join Google Cloud as the tech giant’s first cloud region on the continent. On October 5th, 2022, Google announced plans to follow in the footsteps of competitors by launching its premier African cloud region. Cloud regions in Africa This comes years after major cloud providers Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services established their South African cloud regions in 2019 and 2020, respectively. In addition, earlier this year, Oracle, another competing cloud service, set up its data center in Johannesburg, making Google the
Nigerian startup Stears has announced a $3.3 million seed round led by MaC Venture Capital which included Serena Ventures. What started as a written media publication by a group of Nigerian graduates is now a growing data insights company with its sights set on rivalling the likes of Bloomberg. Backed by Serena Ventures Serena Williams was playing in the US Open when the seed round for Stears came together. Nevertheless, according to Serena Ventures’ founding general partner, they were keen to invest and fought “tooth and nail” to get in.
It’s a universally acknowledged truth that social media can do more harm than good. Even though we know to watch out for disinformation or the insidious effects of constant comparison with other people’s best moments, most of us can’t quit scrolling. Even Facebook’s own studies showed a link between Instagram and teenagers suffering from mental health issues. Because of this, a new social media app called Inpathy wants to create a healthier experience online. Their answer? Asking users to post their real emotions in real-time. The unwritten rules of social
This article by Kelly Boutsalis was originally posted on Linktree. As Indigenous people continue to face marginalization across the world, we spoke to three powerful women working in tech who are paving the way for future generations. Celebrated every year on August 9, the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People recognizes the need to voice Indigenous people’s inclusion and involvement in modern society, so that they can receive the same social and economic benefits provided to all. Despite the reconciliation efforts that have been made over the years, social inequity
The Congressional Black Caucus Institute (CBCI) is launching a new AI tech platform that matches public policy corporations with CBCI-vetted job seekers. Founded in 2000, the CBCI is a nonprofit social welfare organization that aims to educate and empower the African American community around issues that impact it the most. The CBCI’s latest initiative, the Career Placement Initiative (CPI), aims to diversify hiring in the public policy space. The Career Placement Initiative So how does it work? Employers bulk upload communications, legal, public policy, and government relations job openings to the platform. The
Amazon has announced the launch of Amazon Catalytic Capital, a $150 million commitment focused on investing in Black, Latinx, Indigenous, women, and LGBTQIA+ builders in tech. Amazon Catalytic Capital The initiative will provide capital to funds, venture studios, accelerators, or incubators committed to backing startups led by underrepresented founders. Recipients will also receive 1:1 mentorship from Amazon executives and unique business opportunities for partnerships, technical support, and scaling resources. Amazon Catalytic Capital aims to support at least 10 funds and 200 companies through the next year. So far, recipients include Collide
The world’s largest interviewing company, Karat, has announced that five of the world’s leading corporations have joined the Brilliant Black Minds program, which aims to double the number of Black software engineers in the US. Partners of Brilliance Organizations such as Prime Video, Citi, Duolingo, Indeed, and Flatiron Health have joined the movement to commit further to developing Black engineers. In addition to hiring Brilliant Black Minds program participants, these ‘Partners of Brilliance’ have committed to supporting aspiring software engineers from underrepresented backgrounds with workshops and learning opportunities. Brilliant Black Minds Program
National non-profit organization Black Economic Alliance Foundation has partnered with Deloitte to promote financial inclusion. What is financial inclusion? Financial inclusion allows people of color access to financial services and systems that will better enhance their economic status. Financial inclusion is the bridge between economic opportunities and the racial wealth gap. The more access underrepresented families have to financial services, the easier it will be to help close the racial wealth gap. Deloitte’s partnership with the Black Economic Alliance Foundation Deloitte has committed $10 million over the next five years
When TikTok soared in popularity in 2020, the hard seltzer drinks market saw sales double to $4.1 billion. While the stars were aligning, Nectar Hard Seltzer was a new company attempting to take on established brands such as White Claw and Truly. A unique marketing strategy involving our favorite new social media app and SMS texting would be the secret to their success. When Jeremy Kim received a phone call from his future co-founder, John Dalsey, he couldn’t have predicted the journey they would go on. Asian-Inspired Hard Seltzer “Hard seltzer is killing
