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
There’s only one way we can start the week here at POCIT: sharing the ‘good news’ of people of color in tech. There have been a lot of negative headlines in the tech space, from declining investment in minority communities to major layoffs at big companies – redundancies that often impact women, POC, or juniors. But that’s why we’ve made an effort to kick off the week on a high note as it’s important to remember that we’ll all see the light at the end of the tunnel. Here’s some
A well-known influencer collective, Collab Crew (formerly known as Collab Crib) has had a turbulent few months with its founder Keith Dorsey stepping down to focus on his mental health, appointing Robert Dean III (@robiiiworld) to take the lead and of course the big news that it’s shifting from a collab house into a studio. What was the ‘Collab Crib? It was one of the nation’s only content houses for all-Black influencers. There – 10 young creators worked daily under the care of a manager. Most of them lived in
Float, a Ghanaian cash flow and spend management platform, has completed a full acquisition of the Nigerian accounting platform, Accounteer. This Nigerian subscription-based cloud-based accounting service combines bookkeeping, tax prep, and financial advisory services all in one platform for African businesses, for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2015 by Merijn Campsteyn, Accounteer allows users to create invoices, track expenses, and register payments, among other things. The venture-backed company provides accounting software that allows businesses to continue operations offline. According to previous reports – this deal comes eight months after Float closed its
Global Tech Advocates Black Women In Tech has launched their first ever Voices In The Shadows festival, which will take place in London, UK this October. The festival has been sponsored by industry giants including Google, HSBC, Goldman Sachs, Discovery+, and more. Inspired by The Voices in The Shadow books, which was first published last year, the program will showcase the journeys of 51 Black women in the UK who have impacted the tech industry. The event aims to provide all attendees with an intimate setting to help them connect
The pre-seed fund, Visible Hands, has officially launched the second cohort of its “Visionaries Accelerator” program. The initiative, which aims to support overlooked and underrepresented founders, welcomed 51 new founders to its flagship program. The program, which will take place from September to December, will see each company work full-time towards building their business, with financial support from the Visible Hands team. Each founder will receive a starting investment of $25,000. Throughout the program, they will have the chance to earn additional assets of up to $150,000 as they progress.
The Black Business Alliance (BBA) has received a $100,000 federal grant to fund their ‘Black Business Funding Superhighway’ initiative. The BBA is a non-profit membership organization that helps support and grow small Black and minority-owned businesses. Their work, designed to address the gap in business access to funding, helps startups by providing them with access to both funding and educational benefits. The free twelve-week Black Business Funding Superhighway program is a mindset, educational, and mentorship program offered to select guests only. The program, designed to help Black or Brown business
LA-based tech non-profit, Minor-IT has expanded its I.T. training services to help African American and minority youths hoping to succeed in the I.T. industry. Minor-IT, founded in 2019 by Stephen Jones, works to enable minority youth to help them pursue I.T. careers through educational experience, peer-to-peer learning, and networking. They offer guidance and mentoring to help students with the tools needed to achieve unlimited career success. They also sponsor counsel and network with children and teens to help facilitate change in an underrepresented industry. “For me, breaking into I.T., getting
BLK, a dating app with over 7 million downloads, was created to help Black singles find love, and now it’s providing users with financial resources to support Black-owned businesses. Just in time for National Black Business Month in August, BLK has announced “Break the Bank,” an initiative to help Black communities deal with the rising costs of inflation Through a partnership with a Black community collective called The Gathering Spot, BLK is helping to sponsor a contest in which 40 users will receive gift cards worth $250 to fund dates at
