Coming to the US and trying to find a job as an immigrant is no easy task. Colombian immigrants Stephanie Murra and Lorenza Vélez saw how many Spanish-speaking people struggled to find their first job in the United States, so they sought a solution. In 2023, the pair launched Miami-based Ponte Labor during their final year at Harvard, according to TechCrunch. Connecting Hispanic workers with future employers The pair observed that employers in blue-collar industries, such as hospitality, construction, and retail, often struggle to find workers to fill hourly roles. Ponte connects
Brazil’s Supreme Court has ruled that digital platforms are responsible for the content of their users, as reported by The Rest of World. The ruling will go into effect within weeks and orders tech giants such as Google, X, and Meta to track and remove any content with hate speech, racism, and incitement to violence. Companies must clearly indicate that they’ve taken swift action to remove any harmful content. If they fail to do so, they will be held liable, as stated by the justices. Brazil’s relationship with big tech
Workplace surveillance in the Global South is on the rise, according to a new report by Coworker.org, a labor rights nonprofit based in New York. Technologies for tracking and managing staff workers are expanding in scale and sophistication in more than 150 startups and regional companies based in Kenya, Nigeria, Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and India, researchers said. The term “Little Tech” was made popular by the VC firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), which argues that excessive regulation was stifling innovation. The Coworker.org report found that the Little Tech ecosystem, which primarily consists of unregulated, venture
Krisp has announced the launch of AI Accent Conversion for Latin America, making it the first AI-powered voice provider to offer accent conversion services in the region. The noise cancellation app supports five Latin American English accents that represent around 85% of Spanish speakers across the major dialect groups in Latin America. This includes Mexican and Central American Spanish, Caribbean Spanish, Andean Spanish, and Standard Spanish. “By supporting the most widely spoken Latin American English accents, we’re not just improving call clarity but helping to bridge cultural and linguistic gaps
Brazil’s Social Security Institute, INSS, introduced AI to its app in 2018 to speed up welfare claims and reduce red tape. However, the tool has been wrongly rejecting claims, Rest of World reports. The office had a bad reputation due to its long lines and wait times, which accumulated nearly 2 million pending requests. Even though the AI-powered tool has helped process thousands of basic claims, it also rejected claims from those who suffer from digital literacy and live in remote areas. The INSS adding AI to its app While
Migrants who were granted temporary stay to live in the US by using a Biden-era online appointment app have been told to leave the country, “immediately,” officials said on Monday. The number of individuals affected has not yet been confirmed. What Is CBP One? The CBP One app was introduced under President Joe Biden as part of an effort to create safer, legal pathways for asylum seekers and reduce illegal border crossings. The app allowed individuals to schedule appointments with immigration officials and apply for asylum at border crossings—primarily along
Tech company Yango Group has launched Yango Venture, a corporate venture intended to support hopeful startups across sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, as stated by Gulf Business. The fund will target Series B investments in the online-to-offline (O2O), B2B software-as-a-service, and financial technology industries. Yango Group also hopes to grow its capital base as entrepreneurial environments expand in these promising markets. “With Yango Ventures, we are leveraging our expertise and network to support startups in scaling, thriving, and creating meaningful impact in their
Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb Apps are being used to lure women into sex trafficking in Colombia. In an investigation carried out by Bloomberg, several girls shared that they were victims of sexual exploitation. Platforms like Facebook, Tinder and Airbnb allowed predators to lure victims into sex work and plan dates and accommodations with tourists overseas. “With the growing availability of good internet service, the technology to enable this type of crime is on the rise,” Pablo César Villeda Ortiz, former regional president for Latin America and the Caribbean at the International
Following President Trump’s orders, the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ will soon be renamed the ‘Gulf of America’ on Google Maps, according to the BBC. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has written a letter to Google Maps asking it to reconsider its plan to rename the Gulf of Mexico. This change was part of a series of over 100 directives and executive actions signed on Inauguration Day. One of these orders included renaming the Gulf of Mexico, which is made up of the US, Cuba, and Mexico, the Gulf of America. Why is
Moove, an Uber-backed mobility fintech company, has acquired Kovi, a Y Combinator-backed Brazilian urban mobility provider. “This transaction not only strengthens our footprint in Latin America and reinforces our position as a dominant player in global mobility, but it also underscores our commitment to contributing to the Brazilian economy,” Ladi Delano, Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Moove, said in a statement. Following the deal, Kovi will continue to operate under its existing brand with its executive and management teams remaining in place, Moove confirmed. Moove’s Growth and Expansion Founded in 2020 by Ladi Delano
