The Black News Channel, a cable news station focused on serving Black viewers, ceased operations on Friday afternoon after its billionaire backer declined to provide more funding for the startup. Now it’s currently under fire after former network employees took to social media to claim they were blindsided when operations were stopped abruptly. They also claim they have been waiting weeks for their final paychecks, just to be told they would not be receiving them as promised. Founded by former GOP congressman J.C. Watts back in 2020, the network was
Some 60 organizations have signed up for what is thought to be the biggest ever worldwide pilot of a four-day working week. The trial will run for six months from June and see more than 3,000 workers participate. There will be no loss in pay for employees working one fewer day a week – instead, they will be asked to maintain 100% productivity for 80% of their time. It comes as new research last month found some 72% of office workers in the UK said they would prefer a four-day working week. Countdown
There are 2,668 people on Forbes’ 36th-annual ranking of the planet’s richest people—87 fewer than a year ago. They’re worth a collective $12.7 trillion—$400 billion less than in 2021. And 236 newcomers have become billionaires over the past year—including the first ever from Barbados, Bulgaria, Estonia, and Uruguay. Only three Africans were in the Top 500 of the list. They include Aliko Dangote with his $14 billion in total earnings, making him the richest man in Africa according to the magazine. The next African on the list is Mike Adenuga with his $7.3 billion
Global digital payments giant Visa has opened up an innovation studio in Kenya, its first in Africa and sixth globally, after posts in Dubai, London, Miami, San Francisco and Singapore. The goal is to bring developers, Visa’s internal and external clients, and other partners together, to jointly build innovative payment and commerce solutions. It comes after the company previously used its existing innovation hubs to design products for the African market, including a collaboration with Nigerian Fintech Paga to develop new merchant acceptance solutions involving QR codes and NFC technology. “Sub-Saharan
Founded in 2018, Base10 Partners is helmed by managing partners Adeyemi Ajao and TJ Nahigian. Now it’s just been announced as the first Black-led VC firm to cross $1 Billion AUM with its new fund. This new early-stage fund follows a $137 million fund in 2018 and a $250 million Fund II in 2020. Previously – the firm invested in about 30 companies per fund with large lead checks of up to $15 million that would give it 15% to 20% stakes in a startup. The San Francisco-based firm uses a
Morgan State University will host a tribute to the memory of its alumnus Earl G. Graves Sr, founder of Black Enterprise, the magazine launched in 1970 for Black professionals and entrepreneurs. Graves died in 2020, and due to safety restrictions during the height of the pandemic, no memorial at the university was held at the time. This celebration of his life has been in planning for over a year. Family and friends of Graves, Morgan State University president Dr. David K. Wilson, and civil rights leaders will gather at the Earl Graves
Black content creators continue to lead the way in online spaces such as Instagram – from memes, and dances to the way in which they have utilized the app for digital activism and campaigning on important issues. But for far too long – these same creators have often been cast to the side, not credited, and even paid less by advertisers and brands. A report published last year by the communications company MSL and educational organization The Influencer League stated that the pay gap between Black and white content creators
Online lending marketplace LendingTree published a new study on places with the most Black-owned businesses in the United States, based on the US Census Bureau Annual Business Survey data. Fayetteville, NC was found to have the highest percentage of Black-owned businesses in the US. Other metros in the South — including Washington, DC — join Fayetteville at the top of the list. Pittsburgh, however, ranked the lowest out of the 50 American metros listed, with a mere 1.0% of small businesses being Black-owned — a percentage that falls below the national Black
Amazon Alexa Fund and Alexa Startups have teamed up to open the application round for Black Founders Build with Alexa, a remote four-month program for a cohort of up to 10 Black-founded startups located in North America that demonstrate readiness and ability to deliver novel Alexa integration within the program duration. Each company selected for the program will have an opportunity to receive up to a $100,000 investment from the Alexa Fund and individualized technology support from the Alexa Startups Solution Architect and Business Development teams. Founders will receive invitations
Founder of femtech startup Ruby Love, Crystal Etienne, joined forces with her husband, Jean, last year to start VC firm CaJE, a VC that focuses on investing in “soil” rounds, similar to a family and friends investing round. Crystal’s own startup has raised $15 million since it was founded in 2016. She bootstrapped the company from its humble beginnings to over $10 million within two years. But she still felt “cajed” many times while entering the new industry with very little help along the way, but overcame every obstacle. Jean ran his
