Google has announced that 60 new startups would join their Black Founders Fund, specifically designed to help support Black founders in Africa. Since launching the program in 2021, Google has invested in 50 startups from nine African countries, creating over 500 jobs and raising over $87 million to help support underrepresented founders. The Black Founders Fund has invested $20 million in funding to help founders across the US, Europe, Africa, and Brazil. The latest cohort will receive up to $100,000 in capital, including access to the best of Google, people, products,
“My success as a Community Manager requires a certain level of autonomy, and that can be scary for brands,” says Mercedes in an interview with Forbes. Streaming service Tidal was founded by Jay-Z in 2014 who has managed to build an online audience and platform that profoundly resonates with its target audience. Melanie Mercedes has been one of the most significant forces behind developing TIDAL’s social strategy and building a solid worldwide online audience. Over the past two years, Mercedes has been actively growing the streaming services’ online presence. TIDAL has raised
Guetto Institute, a Rio de Janeiro-based non-profit organization is enabling access to cutting-edge technology and a brighter future for Black Brazilians while tackling systemic racism. It’s focused on equipping its target audiences with skills for the new economy and fostering black entrepreneurship. How did the organization begin? It started from a Facebook group created in 2016 by sociologist Vítor Del Rey. At the time, Del Rey was studying at the prestigious business school Fundação Getúlio Vargas with a scholarship provided by Educafro, an organization focused on education inclusion for black
One young company attracting interest in the field of autonomous driving is Heex Technologies, a POC-led startup offering a “smart data management platform” to help carmakers sift through the sea of data required to put autonomous vehicles on the road. CEO and co-founder Bruno Mendes Da Silva was initially focused on solving the pollution crisis before this idea. “My original focus was on fighting pollution — I first launched an electric vehicle rental service after an academic exchange in Shanghai. [It was then that] I realized there are more problems
The tech industry in India is one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the world, reporting a growth rate of 12.2%. The southern Indian tech hub of Bangalore is also home to the most significant number of high-growth companies in India. It ranks fourth overall among Asian cities, according to the FT’s latest ranking of High Growth Companies in Asia-Pacific, compiled by research company Statista. Twenty of the top 500 companies on the list are based in Bangalore, representing four percent of the total. India’s financial capital, Mumbai, is Bangalore’s
Rapper, Zoey Dollaz, has launched a new “Uber service but with bulletproof vehicles” in response to the deadly shootings of entertainers and athletes. In an interview with Radar Radio, Zoey Dollaz opened up about the business initiative he says had been brewing before his own experience in a drive-by shooting. Zoey Dallaz isn’t the first musician to be a drive-by shooting victim, a long line of stars in hip-hop have also been a victim of such attacks, including legendary rapper Notorious B.I.G who died after being shot to death at
To help bridge the gap between Black homeowners and their white counterparts, Ashley D. Bell and Dr. Bernice A. King have partnered up to launch a new initiative to make the path to homeownership more accessible. Fintech platform, Ready Life offers consumers a new path to buying a home that does not include credit score requirements. Instead, the clever move aims to equip communities with the tools needed to help them advance economically. Continuing her father’s legacy Dr. Bernice King, daughter of civil rights legend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., is following in her father’s footsteps
Some of the people working diligently behind the scenes to develop thought-provoking media coverage and memorable experiences are publicists or public relations (PR) professionals. They are the incredible minds that develop branding strategies, implement marketing ideas and help create experiences for clients’ customers, followers, and their own clients. Tech companies rely on a steady stream of public relations to introduce their products, explain new and emerging concepts, and act fast when crises strike. Here, we’ve made a list of leading tech’s rising PR stars bringing diverse stories to the forefront of the
SquadTrip, an automated payment solution for large and small group trips, has launched its new online platform. Travel organizers can create booking pages, accept payments efficiently, and manage communication and financials in one place. SquadTrip is the first travel platform targeting millennials with flexible payment installments, Apple Pay checkout, and promo codes. The new software as a service (or SaaS) platform is a time-saving tool that eliminates the need for tracking payments using spreadsheets or sending multiple text/email messages. Travel professionals can build customized trip pages and travel packages and
According to Insider Intelligence, there are currently over 2 million podcasts and 424.2 million podcast listeners worldwide in 2022, a 10.6% increase from the previous year. As of 2020, the global podcasting market size was valued at $11.46 billion. It grew to $13.785 billion in 2021 and is expected to be a massive $153.07 billion in 2030, according to Acumen Research and Consulting. This growth has been spurred by a number of factors – from the proliferation of new celebrity shows, investments from companies like Spotify, and the increased affordability and availability of tech such as smartphones
