In 2021, venture capital invested just $115 million in digital media globally, a tenth of the $1.1billion it funded in 2015, but not much came to Africa. Digital newsrooms in Africa are reportedly said to be more likely to receive story grants than business funding, with a few exceptions like OMG Digital. Of the reported $4.3–$5 billion raised by African startups in 2021 where fintech received 53–63% of the volume, digital media companies are one of many sectors that have traditionally been overlooked in the conversation of tangible ventures. But last week Big Cabal
After struggling to connect with top technologists and designers, Ronnie Kwesi Coleman co-founded Meaningful Gigs two years ago. The inspiration drew from Coleman’s desire to specifically connect Black product designers and developers around the world with better job opportunities. Now – the company has raised $6million. The seed round was led by Stage 2 Capital with participation from Rethink Education, Authentic Ventures, Reach Capital, Marla Blow, Zvi Band, and Michele Perry. Stage 2 Capital partner, Mandy Cole told TechCrunch, “With the shortage of highly skilled talent and the increasing need for diverse
A lawsuit filed last week has accused Google of systemic racial bias against Black employees, saying the company steers them to lower-level jobs, pays them less, and denies them opportunities to advance because of their race. The complaint was filed in the federal court in San Jose, California, according to reports. The plaintiff, April Curley, said the Alphabet Inc unit subjected Black employees to a hostile work environment, including by often requiring they show identification or be questioned by security at its Mountain View, California, campus. Curley said Google had hired her in 2014
The BBC reported nearly a quarter of the 76,000 foreign students in Ukraine were African in 2020, citing government data. Campaigners say these students were drawn to the nation’s relatively inexpensive tuition and easy access to European labor markets. 2015 data shows that foreign students inject upwards of $500 million a year into the Ukrainian economy — almost the entire sum of the financing for the country’s public higher education, according to a former education official. Black Women for Black Lives, a new coalition focused on helping Black residents escape
Another Black worker is reportedly suing tech giant Tesla, claiming white workers tormented him with ringtones set to sound like incoming-rocket warnings, as well as race-based abuses. According to Mercury News – Marcellous Cage alleged in his lawsuit against Tesla that the company fired him because he reported life-threatening safety violations in the plant. “Mr. Cage was fired for two reasons: his commitment to safety and his race,” the lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court claimed, the paper reported. Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment on
Athlete and activist Colin Kaepernick and his partner’s Canadian businessman Jim Nikopoulos and activist Akim Aliu have made a seed investment in Naomi Osaka’s KINLÒ brand with Kaepernick joining the brand’s board of directors. Osaka has also brought on a new brand President, Mia Meachem, who joins KINLÒ with over 20 years of brand marketing experience with roles across notable beauty brands including Drunk Elephant – a part of the Shiseido organization, The Estee Lauder Companies, and Burt’s Bees. In her new role as President, Meachem will help to drive
Women remain underrepresented in computing-related jobs in the tech field, holding just 26 percent of the positions. This disparity is even worse for Hispanic women, as they make up just 2 percent. But – there are some who’ve made it and they’re using their social media to advise, mentor, and equip other Latinx with information about the industry. Gina Moreno, 26, a program manager for Microsoft, is a first-generation College Graduate and first-generation American from El Paso, TX. In school, she obtained a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and an M.S. in systems
Komodo is hiring on pocitjobs.com Vanessa Anderson is a director of engineering for product teams at Komodo Health. In the following interview, you will learn how she got into tech and obtained her first job as a software engineer without a Master’s degree, before eventually being offered a key position in a health tech startup valued at $3.3 billion. Hi Vanessa, What Do You Do at Komodo? I just transitioned out of a senior DevOps role where I was the tech lead of the infrastructure team. I now manage teams
Race and gender discrimination in technology remain an issue, according to Dice’s newly released Equality in Tech Report. The report said that between 2020 and 2021, there was little change in sentiment around gender and racial discrimination. And the perception of racial discrimination increased for both Black technologist respondents (57%, up from 55% in 2020) and technologists who identify as women (at double the rate of technologists who identify as men.) The report said that perception of a lack of leadership opportunities and salary and benefit inequities were cited as a common
Goodwin has just announced its latest partnership with Meta on a new IP/Tech Scholarship Program for students from Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) planning to pursue a career in intellectual property or technology law. The new program provides $20,000 scholarships to graduating seniors from historically excluded groups who are currently attending HBCUs and will be starting law school in fall 2022. Awardees will spend one week this summer at a Goodwin office, shadowing firm lawyers to learn more about the firm and its practice areas. Each awardee will be
