America is in the midst of a Black maternal health crisis, and according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2020, Black women in America are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related complications than white women, a disparity the CDC attributes to factors including underlying chronic conditions, structural racism, and implicit bias. There is a damning body of research showing how Black women and birthing people go unseen and unheard as they navigate the healthcare system with celebrities like Beyoncé and Serena Williams bringing attention to the risks of childbirth
Black tech entrepreneur Bill Spruill reportedly turned his employees into millionaires when he sold his startup Global Data Consortium for an undisclosed amount. Global Data, which he launched make in 2012, makes software that verifies the identity of people behind online transactions, an important step in eliminating potential fraud. Though financial details have not yet been revealed, Spruill described the deal to Axios as a “Bronto-level transaction,” which was acquired by NetSuite for $200 million in 2015. When Spruill started the Global Data Consortium he only raised $5 million from investors – this is rather
Norebase, the trade technology company building a single platform for businesses to start, scale and operate in any African country, has secured a $1M pre-seed funding round. The company is laser-focused on building two-pronged platforms that offer African and non-African businesses access to the African continent as one big market while creating a channel where African founders can access the international markets (such as the USA). Using Norebase, established companies can expand to new locations while new businesses can be incorporated in any African country of their choice in just a
Cummins is hiring on pocitjobs.com When speaking to Kasturi Sahasrabuddhe, IT Project manager at Cummins – it’s clear that she’s finally happy where she is. Much like a lot of us – she’s tried and tested different careers from electronics engineering, Business analyst to an IT manager, and along the way she has learned dozens of skills that have helped her thrive in her current position. Sahasrabuddhe doesn’t shy away from speaking about her goals, including giving back to the younger generation and teaching others to remain their authentic selves.
OnePort 365, a platform that claims to solve problems by providing end-to-end digitization of freight management for stakeholders, is building an operating system for cross-border trade in Africa. It says its platform covers air freight, ocean freight, inland haulage (trucking, barge, and rail), pay-as-you-go warehousing, marine insurance, and customs brokerage. Traders can connect with shipping and inland transportation vendors and manage the entire process (from booking to payments), including real-time visibility of their shipments. When it comes to payments, OnePort 365 claims to aggregate different methods enabled by the Pan-African
Madona is an Android Engineer III at Streem-Frontdoor, a Women Who Code Mobile Lead, and a developer who enjoys sharing her Android knowledge and teaching women how to make Android applications. “As an Android Engineer, I work on implementing new features that transform the ARCore experience into the Streem SDK. Also, work on fixing reported bugs from clients, analyze, optimize, and improve the codebase,” she wrote on her Linkedin, adding, “I Work closely with iOS and back-end engineers to discuss implementation detail and architecture.” Why did you decide to join
Google has opened its first product development center in Africa. Located in Nairobi, the center is designed to build “transformative” products and services, company officials have said. It comes after the tech giant revealed plans to invest $1 billion over the next five years in October last year. The center is Google’s second major research and development investment in Africa after the tech giant set up an AI and research center in Ghana in 2019. The firm will reportedly hire more than 100 tech talent including software engineers, researchers, and
Insurtech Etap is now on a mission to expand its services across the West African country following a $1.5 million pre-seed funding round led by Mobility 54; the venture capital arm of Toyota Tsusho and CFAO Group. Founder and CEO Ibraheem Babalola started building Etap last year when he found himself frustrated by the complexities and delays involved in purchasing insurance. “The idea itself is from being a frustrated customer; my insurance would expire and I wouldn’t get a notification to renew it…I always had to make a call to a guy
Karat, the world’s largest interviewing company, has just announced a strategic investment from Serena Williams to significantly scale Brilliant Black Minds, a program that improves access and inclusion across the technology industry. Brilliant Black Minds was launched to close the Interview Access Gap that disproportionately impacts Black software engineers. The scope for the initiative was realized after Black engineers Karat and Howard University surveyed said their confidence levels increased with more interview practice. There’s no doubt that Black software engineers face multiple barriers to entry for jobs in the tech
daba, an abbreviation for “Democratizing Access to Business in Africa” is set to launch soon and aims to give individuals interested in investing in exclusive markets in the continent of Africa the chance to do just that. The waitlist, which is reported to have quietly opened in the fall of 2021, has reportedly grown to more than $2.5M USD in capital pledges toward promising African investment opportunities. Established as Africa’s first social investment application, daba’s mission is to make investing in Africa possible for investors of any level. To elevate their commitment
