According to Insider Intelligence, there are currently over 2 million podcasts and 424.2 million podcast listeners worldwide in 2022, a 10.6% increase from the previous year. As of 2020, the global podcasting market size was valued at $11.46 billion. It grew to $13.785 billion in 2021 and is expected to be a massive $153.07 billion in 2030, according to Acumen Research and Consulting. This growth has been spurred by a number of factors – from the proliferation of new celebrity shows, investments from companies like Spotify, and the increased affordability and availability of tech such as smartphones
There’s only one way we can start the week here at POCIT: sharing the ‘good news’ of people of color in tech. There have been a lot of negative headlines in the tech space, from declining investment in minority communities to major layoffs at big companies – redundancies that often impact women, POC, or juniors. But that’s why we’ve made an effort to kick off the week on a high note as it’s important to remember that we’ll all see the light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s some
A well-known influencer collective, Collab Crew (formerly known as Collab Crib) has had a turbulent few months with its founder Keith Dorsey stepping down to focus on his mental health, appointing Robert Dean III (@robiiiworld) to take the lead and of course the big news that it’s shifting from a collab house into a studio. What was the ‘Collab Crib? It was one of the nation’s only content houses for all-Black influencers. There – 10 young creators worked daily under the care of a manager. Most of them lived in
Black Girls CODE board member Heather Hiles is breaking their silence regarding allegations made against them from Black Girls CODE founder Kimberly Bryant. Hiles’ comments are the latest in a still developing fight between Black Girls CODE’s board and the nonprofit’s recently ousted founder Kimberly Bryant. Earlier this month, Black Girls CODE announced that they have officially removed Bryant from the organization. The announcement follows Bryant’s own move to take ownership of the narrative. The Business Insider reports that Bryant has filed a suit in federal court against Black Girls CODE, alleging that she was
Nigerian B2B e-commerce platform Omnibiz has secured $15 million in pre-series A funding. The funding round, led by Timon Capital, included Ventures Platform, Lofty Inc, Chapel Hill Denham, Chandaria, and Musha Ventures. Omnibiz, founded by Deepankar Rustagi, is a distribution platform that works to create a more revolutionized approach to distribution. The platform aims to completely change how the retail ecosystem in developing markets operates by eliminating the disorganization of traditional trading and digitizing the retail chain. “We believe the smart informal retailer – not shopping malls – is the
Black Business Month isn’t over just yet! Amazon has announced that they are testing a new badge that aims to help boost the exposure of Black-owned businesses that buy and sell products through its online store. The initiative, which comes just after the anniversary of the app’s first Black Business Accelerator program, will highlight to customers when a Black-owned business sells a featured offer product. That way, customers can discover, shop, buy and support Black-owned businesses, ultimately helping small business owners expand their clientele and reach a broader demographic. “As part of
Angeles Investors have announced the winners of this year’s Estrellas award. The line-up features a collection of the top 40 funders and venture capital firms investing in Hispanic and Latinx startups. This year’s cohort exemplifies leadership in investing in top startups and Hispanic and Latinx founders, among the fastest-growing segments of the U.S. economy. Â Â “It’s exciting to see the number of top funders and venture capital groups investing in Latino startups grow,” said Adele Cepeda, Angeles Investors Board Chair and Director at BMO Financial Corporation. “In 2020, we started
Black-owned venture capital firm Brown Venture Group announced that it had received a $1.5 million investment from the Bush Foundation. Brown Venture Group, co-founded in 2018 by Dr. Paul Campbell and Dr. Chris Brooks, is an investment firm committed to investing in BIPOC tech startups and founders. The firm aims to help all startups in its portfolio grow as a brand through investment capital, training, and professional networks. By focusing on excelling in tech entrepreneurship, Brown Venture Group hopes its investments will help bypass many of the racial biases that
American bank, Wells Fargo, is set to retreat from the mortgage business after years of scandals that have plagued the bank’s reputation. According to Bloomberg, the company plans on pulling back its mortgage business. The decision will reduce the bank’s ties to outside mortgage firms, which helped them generate $205 billion in new home loans last year. The demand for mortgages drastically falling is another reason the mortgage giant, Wells Fargo, has decided to step away from the industry it once dominated. “Like others in the industry, we’re evaluating the size
Silicon Valley-based startup, Sanas, is working to build real-time voice-altering technology that aims to make international workers sound more “Westernized.” For many years, Black workers have been advised to use their “white voice” when communicating with colleagues or customers in a professional working environment. Additionally, movie adaptations such as “Sorry To Bother You” show that Black workers achieve higher success rates when they choose to emulate a “whiter” voice. Despite the program working to “protect the diverse voice identities of the world,” many wonder whether the product is actively working to remove unconscious
