Carver Bancorp, one of the nation’s oldest and largest Black-owned banks, has announced Donald Felix as its new president and CEO, effective November 1, 2024. Felix, a 25-year veteran of the banking industry, steps into this leadership role following a challenging year for the institution, which included a hostile takeover attempt. The announcement, made September 16, 2024, comes as Carver looks to stabilize and grow under Felix’s guidance. A New Chapter in Leadership Donald Felix succeeds Craig MacKay, who served as interim CEO since October 2023 following the departure of
A group of former Revolut employees has launched LiveFlow, an AI-driven accounting startup that aims to streamline financial workflows while ensuring accountants remain central to the process. As enterprise software increasingly automates manual accounting tasks, LiveFlow seeks to strike a balance between technology and human expertise. Founded by Lasse Kalkar and Anita Koimur, both of whom held senior positions at Revolut, LiveFlow raised a $13.5 million Series A led by Valar Ventures, with plans to expand in the U.S. The startup leverages AI to automate the synchronization of financial data
Vista Equity Partners, led by billionaire Robert F. Smith, is partnering with Blackstone to acquire Smartsheet, the popular enterprise work management platform. The all-cash deal values Smartsheet at approximately $8.4 billion, marking one of the largest recent acquisitions in the software space. Under the terms of the agreement, the two firms will pay $56.50 per share, a 41% premium to Smartsheet’s 90-day average stock price. Smartsheet’s Continued Growth With New Partners Smartsheet has been a key player in the enterprise work management sector, serving millions of users, including 85% of
Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill (AB) 1511 into law that mandates state agencies develop plans to increase advertising spending in media outlets serving California’s diverse populations. The legislation, authored by Assembly member Miguel Santiago (D-Los Angeles), aims to address historical underfunding by directing state advertising dollars to these essential media outlets. Expanding State Support for Diverse Media According to the Latino Media Collaborative, California is home to more than 300 ethnic media outlets, which serve as critical sources of information for the state’s diverse communities. However, many of these
Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated annually from September 15 to October 15, honors the history, culture, and contributions of Hispanic and Latine communities in the US. It began as a week-long event in 1968 under President Lyndon B. Johnson and was extended to a month by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. The dates are significant because they coincide with the independence anniversaries of several Latin American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and Chile. In keeping with this year’s theme, “Inspiring Innovation and Empowering Communities,” here are
Southwest Michigan has seen the debut of its first Black-owned venture capital firm, Kalamazoo Forward Ventures (KZFV). With a $50 million commitment from limited partners, KZFV aims to empower underrepresented founders, startups, and innovators in Kalamazoo and beyond. The firm, led by a group of seven influential men from Michigan, focuses on bridging gaps for those who have traditionally lacked access to capital. A Mission to Uplift Marginalized Entrepreneurs Kalamazoo Forward Ventures’ founding members are Eric L. Wimbley, CEO of First Line Risk Management; Jamauri A. Bogan, CEO of Bogan
Ruby Jackson, a 23-year-old student midwife at the University of Brighton, has developed an app, “Melanatal,” to address gaps in the recognition of maternal and neonatal conditions on Black and brown skin. Her app aims to educate both clinicians and patients on how conditions such as jaundice, pre-eclampsia, and mastitis appear on darker skin tones, a subject historically underrepresented in medical training. Bridging the Knowledge Gap in Maternal and Neonatal Health Jackson’s inspiration for Melanatal came during her placement at a neonatal unit in Ghana, where she realized that key
Bolt Kenya has awarded 10 drivers with KSh 288,000 ($2,200) each in seed funding as part of its first-ever accelerator program. The awards, amounting to a total of €20,000 ($22,400) mark the culmination of a six-month program aimed at creating innovation in Kenya’s mobility sector. A Platform for Innovation The Bolt Accelerator, launched in April 2024, provided drivers with business training, mentorship, and funding to create innovative solutions for transport and delivery services. The program attracted over 800 applications from Bolt drivers and couriers, including ideas for electric vehicle charging
Nigerian e-health startup, Field, has unveiled a new service aimed at addressing Africa’s maternal mortality crisis. Backed by a $11 million investment from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Field’s initiative focuses on emerging therapies for maternal, newborn, and child health as well as improving nutrition across the continent. Helping healthcare access Co-founded in 2015 by Michael Moreland, Justin Lorenzon, and Peter Bunor, Field has already made significant strides in transforming healthcare delivery through its pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, operating in Nigeria and Kenya. The company has supported over 800
Los Angeles-based tech startup See Computing is introducing Speakimage.ai, an AI-powered tool designed to make communication more inclusive and accessible. Unlike most GPTs which prioritize text, Speakimage.ai generates text, images, and video from a single input, revolutionizing communication for visual thinkers, the hearing-impaired community, and neurodivergent people. A Groundbreaking Tool for Inclusive Communication What sets Speakimage.ai apart is its holistic approach to communication. Set to launch on October 1, 2024, Speakimage.ai caters to the specific needs of different cognitive and sensory styles. Whether it’s creating vivid images for visual thinkers, captioned
