AMAKA Studio has successfully raised $2 million in seed funding, led by Equitane Ventures, with contributions from Morgan Stanley Inclusive Ventures Lab, Silverbacks Holdings, and several angel investors. The social publishing platform is on a mission to empower Black and African creators to reach a global audience and earn through subscriptions and gigs. Fueling Growth and Innovation The funds will primarily support the expansion of AMAKA Gigs, a platform that connects Black and African creators with brands for commissioned work, streamlining the process and ensuring fair compensation. AMAKA also plans to
Africa’s push towards digital identity systems—promoted by the World Bank and UN agencies—has largely failed to deliver on its promises of democratization and development. A year-long investigation by Bloomberg and Lighthouse Reports has found that these systems have disproportionately benefited tech vendors instead of the public. The Push For Digital IDs Countries across Africa have implemented biometric data collection to establish national identity registries, aiming to fulfill the UN’s sustainable development goal of providing legal identity for all. However, in Uganda, Mozambique, and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), digital
Women’s health company Perelel has acquired LOOM, a sexual and reproductive health information platform co-founded by Erica Chidi. Chidi, a doula and health educator, joins Perelel as a strategic advisor, where she will use her expertise to advance the shared mission of supporting women and people with uteruses through their reproductive health journeys. LOOM’s Journey In 2017, Erica Chidi and Quinn Lundberg founded LOOM to fill gaps in reproductive health education, particularly for diverse communities. LOOM offers regulatory-compliant guidance and personalized support throughout different phases of sexual and reproductive health,
Everyone in my team is a person of color (POC). Before joining this company, I had unconsciously dimmed my ideas, opinions, and a huge part of myself. Working in an industry that’s 94% white, I’d absorbed the belief that stories about race and identity didn’t always need to be told— or perhaps I was making too big a deal of them. My all-POC team changed that for me. It set a new standard for what I expect from the workplace. Feeling Like I’m “Too Much” As a journalism student at
Propelle, a new investment platform tailored specifically for women, launched on September 25 with an ambitious aim: to close the UK’s gender wealth gap. The platform, founded by 40-year-old Ayesha Ofori, a former Goldman Sachs Executive Director, empowers women to invest confidently and build wealth. Closing The Gender Investment Gap During her six years at Goldman Sachs, Ofori managed over £500 million ($663 million) in client assets and saw firsthand how the investment world primarily benefited the wealthy—and predominantly men. With the UK’s gender investment gap currently standing at £1.65
Emmy-winning actress Kerry Washington has invested in Spill, a Black-owned social media platform that aims to create safer spaces for historically marginalized groups, including LGBTQIA+ and people of color. Founded by two former Twitter employees, Alphonzo “Phonz” Terrell and DeVaris Brown, Spill positions itself as a next-generation social platform that puts culture first. Kerry Washington Backs Spill With Spill, Washington is not only an investor but also an enthusiastic user. “In a digital world where marginalized groups, especially Black, Brown, and LGBTQIA folks, rarely feel prioritized, Spill stands out,” she shared
A new R300-million ($15.6 million) Seed Fund of Funds has been launched to provide crucial early-stage capital for South African tech startups. This initiative, backed by the SA SME Fund, the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), and impact investor E Squared Investments, aims to fund at least 50 technology-driven startups. The fund seeks to address a gap in South Africa’s venture capital landscape, which has historically favored later-stage investments. By focusing on seed capital, it will help budding entrepreneurs transition their ideas into viable
BlackDoctor.org (BDO) has introduced an AI-powered chatbot, designed to offer culturally relevant health guidance to Black Americans. This new feature provides round-the-clock support and draws from BDO’s repository of over 17,000 articles, ensuring that users receive tailored information related to chronic conditions, mental health, and healthy living. As a leading platform offering health content specifically for Black communities, BDO’s chatbot stands out for its focus on culturally sensitive, condition-specific support. Tailored Health Information At Your Fingertips The BlackDoctor Chatbot claims to be the first of its kind, offering personalized, culturally
David Steward, founder and chairman of World Wide Technology (WWT), is now recognized as the wealthiest Black man in the US, with an estimated net worth of $11.4 billion. Steward ranks at No. 84 on Forbes’ recently released 2024 Forbes 400 list, a definitive ranking of the wealthiest Americans. This year, individuals needed a minimum of $3.3 billion to make the cut, with the list reflecting a total net worth of $5.4 trillion—an increase of $1 trillion from the previous year. David Steward’s Rise in the Tech World Steward, 73,
OpenAI recently launched an advanced voice mode for ChatGPT, enabling users to hold natural, real-time conversations in a wide range of languages and dialects. Clips of the chatbot speaking in Jamaican Patois, Nigerian Pidgin, and Trinidadian creole have taken the internet by storm, impressing some users while leaving others skeptical. A Voice Feature with Global Reach OpenAI began introducing its voice feature earlier this year, but its latest update brings a richer and faster audio experience to premium subscribers. This enhanced voice mode, launched in late September 2024, not only
