Five Howard students have won a $1 million grant for their school as winenrs of the Goldman Sachs Fifth Annual Market Madness Competition. Keyla Arrechea, Jordan Atkins, Aaron Harrison, Kadijah Mansaray, and Jada Rabun were participants in the 2024–2025 cohort of Goldman Sachs’ HBCU Possibilities Program. The semester-long program offers HBCU students industry experience, professional development, and networking opportunities inside the investment banking sector. A major component of the program is a case competition that challenges students to pitch and defend strategic business solutions for real-world companies. Howard team wins the
For the first time in history, the FDA has approved a device that allows people to screen for cervical cancer from home. Teal Health launched the Teal Wand, a prescription device that lets patients self-collect samples and mail them to labs to receive the same testing that they would receive from a professional doctor. In January, it was announced that Serena Ventures, Williams’ VC firm, participated in a $10 million seed funding round for Teal Health. How will the kit work? Once a user requests a kit, a vetting process to confirm eligibility is
Clarence O. Smith, one of the founders of Essence Magazine, passed away on Monday, April 21, at the age of 92. Smith spent over three decades at Essence Communications, serving as president and overseeing the company’s advertising and marketing. The New York Times reported that Smith resided in Yonkers, NY, and passed away in a hospital after a short illness, according to his niece Kimberly Fonville Boyd. When reflecting on Smith’s death, Susan L. Taylor, the magazine’s former Editor-in-Chief, told Essence, “He shifted hearts, minds—and investment choices—in the conventional advertising world. With the
Black Unicorn Factory (BUF), a Los Angeles-based venture capital firm, has officially become the most prominent Black-owned venture capital firm in US history by the number of startups funded and total equity issued. The firm has provided over $500 million in alternative investment capital by backing over 150 early-stage companies across various industries. “Cash or other consideration” BUF differs from other firms that rely solely on cash-based investing, as it leverages non-traditional, SEC-compliant methods rooted in the concept of “cash or other consideration” as allowed under exemptions like Reg CF,
A new dataset in the form of maps highlighted how many African workers are indirectly employed in the tech sector. These employees tend to do content moderation, customer service, and data annotation for AI models, as well as other jobs. Tech firms that provide outsourced digital labor for big tech companies tend to be discreet about their staff. This allows tech companies to distance themselves legally and ethically from their employees, experts explained to Rest of World. African workforces building AI The map shows the flow of data and knowledge
Aruwa Capital Management, a Nigerian investment firm, has raised $35 million towards its $40 million target for its second fund. The firm is set to reach its final close of $50 million, with a hard cap of $60 million within the year. The total fund exceeds Aruawa Capital’s first fund, which closed in 2022 at just over $20 million. The second fund includes new and returning investors such as the Mastercard Foundation Africa Growth Fund (MFAGF), Visa Foundation, global family offices and HNIs, and new LPs such as the Bank
A new tech startup co-founded by basketball stars aims to ease the burden of funeral planning. Eazewell, an AI-powered platform created by NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, NBA All-Star Kemba Walker, and NCAA champion Donnell Beverly Jr., offers a more compassionate and streamlined alternative to the traditionally complex and costly funeral planning process. A Response to Personal Loss The idea for Eazewell began years ago, after Beverly Jr. and Westbrook suddenly lost their high school teammate and close friend, Khelcey Barrs III. The experience revealed how few resources exist for families
Magic Johnson and Angel Reese have launched Wealth Playbook, a new financial literacy program for high school seniors in Baltimore. The program aims to teach students how to manage money and build long-term wealth. The initiative is a partnership between the Angel Reese Foundation, the Magic Johnson Foundation, and Pull Up Neighbor, a marketing and advertising firm focused on community outreach. Bringing Financial Education to Baltimore Classrooms The four-session program began last week at Saint Frances Academy, Reese’s former high school, in collaboration with wealth management giant Merrill Lynch. In
Black Leaders Detroit has announced the fifth annual Ride for Equity—an ambitious 1,645-mile cycling journey from Tulsa, Oklahoma, to New York City. The multi-state event pays tribute to the legacy of historic Black business districts and will also raise funds to support Black entrepreneurs, BridgeDetroit reports. “We’re riding from Black Wall Street in honor of the legacy of Greenwood,” Dwan Dandridge, founder and CEO of Black Leaders Detroit, told BridgeDetroit. “And we’re going to Wall Street because it’s another place where Black people had a huge hand in creating the
Meta is threatening to shut down Facebook and Instagram in Nigeria after losing a court appeal over $290 million in fines tied to regulatory and data privacy violations, the BBC reports. $290M in fines The showdown began in 2021 when Nigeria’s Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) launched an investigation into WhatsApp’s updated privacy policy. The agency, along with the Nigerian Data Protection Commission (NDPC) and the national advertising regulator, accused Meta of multiple infractions. These include sharing user data without authorization, discriminating against Nigerian users compared to other
