Google has announced the launch of a $50 million “Africa Investment Fund,” which will be invested in African startups. The tech giant made its plans known at a virtual event, where CEO Sundar Pichai announced its intentions to commit $1 billion over the next five years in tech-led initiatives on the continent. Chosen companies will also be provided access to Google’s employees, network, and technologies to help them build products. In three years, the accelerator program has supported more than 80 startups in seed to Series A stages, providing equity-free mentorship and
A study assessing the working conditions of Black workers during the pandemic has found that they preferred remote working compared to the office as they felt more valued and supported. Although working from home has its challenges from endless Zoom calls and juggling child care duties – for many Black workers in white-dominated jobs, getting out of the office has resulted in a vast improvement in their employee experience. According to a survey by the Future Forum, a research consortium created by software maker Slack Technologies. The survey of more than
The venture capitalist and American tech entrepreneur has spoken out on her journey into the industry and how she – and fellow founder Joey Womack – hope to level the playing field. Ms. Solomon, who acts as a managing partner of the investment firm ‘Collab Capital’, a fund that aims to close the funding gap for Black entrepreneurs, said: “The bruises were motivation, I didn’t want other people to have the same knocks that I had in my journey. “So, it was pretty clear to me what I needed to
Engineers have paved the way toward advances in all sciences. For example, it’s nearly impossible to imagine how we would have survived the Covid-19 lockdown without online delivery, Zoom, and of course, software’s influence on testing and vaccine distribution. But there is no doubt that the industry still has a long way to go for inclusivity both in the UK and the US. Black History Month is an annual celebration of the men, women, and essential events in the history of Black people. It takes place throughout October in the UK but in February
Netflix and Howard University have established a $5.4 million scholarship, called the Chadwick A. Boseman Memorial Scholarship, in honor of the esteemed actor. The scholarship will cover four years of tuition at Howard’s College of Fine Arts for one student every year. Students who receive the scholarship will have demonstrated a drive for excellence, leadership, respect, empathy, passion, and exceptional skills in the arts, “reminiscent of Boseman,” according to a statement on the university’s website. “It is with immense pleasure and deep gratitude that we announce the creation of an
A report conducted by Dice, a tech career-building company, found a 16 percent increase in job postings in this year’s second quarter. The company analyzed more than one million tech job postings between April and June 2021 and compared that analysis to the same data collected from January through March 2021. Burning Glass Technologies provided all of the data for Dice to analyze. The study also found tech job posting growth across locations, occupations, skills, and employers in the U.S. from Q1 to Q2. According to PR News, emerging tech hubs like
In many ways, Caleb Anderson is like any other child his age—he enjoys swimming in his family’s pool at their home in Marietta, Georgia, and loves watching Marvel movies. But the one thing that makes him stand out is that at the tender age of 12, he enrolled in college to study aerospace engineering. The Georgia Institute of Technology student’s journey reportedly started at just 3-weeks old when his mother noticed he was mimicking her motions. At six months, Anderson was reading, and by the time he was nine months
The Oakland Black Business Fund has been selected as the inaugural recipient of Michael Jordan and the Jordan Brand’s Community Grant. The initiative is part of the Jordan Brand’s ‘Black Community Commitment Grant Program.’ It will fund the Oakland Black Business Fund’s [OBBF’s] mission to build peer-to-peer relationships within Black business owners, technical assistance providers, and tech companies. According to PR News Wire, OBBF aims to offer a sustainable growth model for underserved and under-funded businesses coming out of the Bay Area. In a statement, OBBF Co-Founder Trevor Parham said: “OBBF has had
From attorney to tech history maker – Natalie King’s vision led to the first Black woman-owned electric vehicle recharging station. Dunamis Clean Energy Partners has a fast charger that can recharge a vehicle in 30 minutes. It also comes with a screen that allows operators to advertise to pick up an additional revenue stream. With the residential model, users can mount it to their garage wall and expect a full charge for their electronic vehicle in four-to-six hours. King’s journey to building Dunamis Charge began in 2007 when she and her ex-husband
Ziscuit, which is thought to be the world’s first grocery search engine, today announced it will launch its platform at the 2021 Techstars Farm To Fork Accelerator Demo Day. The all-new grocery search engine will initially launch in two zip codes in the Atlanta metro area. It will help budget-sensitive customers save $5 to $10 per shopping trip by instantly showing them where the cheapest groceries are in their neighborhood. After Ziscuit’s Atlanta launch, the company will target 25 additional cities. Founder & CEO Mark Anthony Peterson said he started
