Brand new Techish! This week, hosts Abadesi and Michael break down: Diddy gets arrested (00:10) Red Lobster’s new 35-year-old Black CEO (06:30) The job market is a mess (13:35) Is entrepreneurship too safe now? (20:00) Listen to the episode You can find the Techish podcast on Spotify, Apple, and all good podcast apps. Watch On YouTube
Kenya’s Court of Appeal ruled that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, can be sued in Kenya for labor disputes involving outsourced content moderators, according to The Kenyan Wall Street. The ruling marks a major step in a long-standing case where Meta sought to avoid legal responsibility for its operations in Kenya. The court dismissed Meta’s appeal, which argued that Kenya’s Employment and Labour Relations Court lacked jurisdiction to sue a foreign company like Meta. How Did We Get Here? The case centers around Daniel Motaung, a South African whistleblower,
Barry Lawson Williams, founder of the Black Corporate Board Readiness (BCBR) progam, has been honored with a $10 million endowment to advance Black representation on corporate boards. Increasing Black representation on corporate boards At a gala event on Friday, September 27, 2024, honoring Barry Lawson Williams’ efforts to increase Black representation on corporate boards, Santa Clara University’s Leavey School of Business announced a $10 million endowment for the BCBR program. The $10 million capital campaign will establish the Barry Lawson Williams BCBR Program Endowment Fund, ensuring the program’s sustainability, and
Carver Bancorp, one of the nation’s oldest and largest Black-owned banks, has announced Donald Felix as its new president and CEO, effective November 1, 2024. Felix, a 25-year veteran of the banking industry, steps into this leadership role following a challenging year for the institution, which included a hostile takeover attempt. The announcement, made September 16, 2024, comes as Carver looks to stabilize and grow under Felix’s guidance. A New Chapter in Leadership Donald Felix succeeds Craig MacKay, who served as interim CEO since October 2023 following the departure of
Reddit is bringing its AI-powered translation tool to more than 35 new countries, with plans to rollout the feature across Latin America in the coming weeks. Following a successful introduction in France earlier this year, users in Brazil and Spain are now able to translate posts and comments with a simple click, making Reddit more accessible to non-English-speaking communities. Seamless Translation Across Platforms This new feature allows Redditors to translate posts and comments into their preferred language across all platforms—mobile web, apps, and desktop. A translation icon in the overflow
A group of former Revolut employees has launched LiveFlow, an AI-driven accounting startup that aims to streamline financial workflows while ensuring accountants remain central to the process. As enterprise software increasingly automates manual accounting tasks, LiveFlow seeks to strike a balance between technology and human expertise. Founded by Lasse Kalkar and Anita Koimur, both of whom held senior positions at Revolut, LiveFlow raised a $13.5 million Series A led by Valar Ventures, with plans to expand in the U.S. The startup leverages AI to automate the synchronization of financial data
In rural South Sudan, where venomous snakebites claim thousands of lives annually, a new AI initiative is giving healthcare workers a lifeline. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) is piloting an AI-driven app that can identify dangerous snake species, offering hope in a region where access to effective treatments is scarce. With snakebites killing between 81,000 and 138,000 people globally each year, this solution could help save lives by ensuring the right antivenom is administered promptly. Tackling A Neglected Crisis Snakebite envenoming is one of the world’s most overlooked tropical diseases, with
Vista Equity Partners, led by billionaire Robert F. Smith, is partnering with Blackstone to acquire Smartsheet, the popular enterprise work management platform. The all-cash deal values Smartsheet at approximately $8.4 billion, marking one of the largest recent acquisitions in the software space. Under the terms of the agreement, the two firms will pay $56.50 per share, a 41% premium to Smartsheet’s 90-day average stock price. Smartsheet’s Continued Growth With New Partners Smartsheet has been a key player in the enterprise work management sector, serving millions of users, including 85% of
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1511 into law that mandates state agencies develop plans to increase advertising spending in media outlets serving California’s diverse populations. The legislation, authored by Assembly member Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), aims to address historical underfunding by directing state advertising dollars to these essential media outlets. Expanding State Support for Diverse Media According to the Latino Media Collaborative, California is home to more than 300 ethnic media outlets, which serve as critical sources of information for the state’s diverse communities. However, many of these
Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15, honors the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latine communities in the US. It began as a week-long event in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was extended to a month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. The dates are significant because they coincide with the independence anniversaries of several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Inspiring Innovation and Empowering Communities,” here are
