From pioneers and leaders to artists and icons, TIME has officially released its TIME100 Next list, highlighting emerging leaders worldwide who are actively shaping the future and redefining the next generation of leadership. The annual list, which recognizes 100 rising stars from a range of different sectors around the world, has featured some of the most influential people of the century. Although each person listed is entirely different from the others, they all share the extraordinary lengths they go to to help shape our world and change the future. This
Timbaland and Swizz Beatz’s battle against short-form music video app Triller has finally come to an end. Earlier this year, the pair decided to sue Triller after alleging they refused to pay them $28 million after acquiring Verzuz, a rap-battle show they founded during the first peak of the pandemic. According to reports, the pair claimed the company had refused to pay the settlement agreement after acquiring their Verzuz platform. Despite Triller denying the claims, the platform has reached an “amicable agreement” with both partners to settle the matter. “Verzuz
From street vendor to software engineer, Devin Jackson, founder of We Build Black, is on a mission to achieve socio-economic change by offering the community tech education and professional development. We Build Black, founded in 2017 by Devin Jackson, is a non-profit organization that has evolved from a one-person-only team to a volunteer-run group that aims to support thousands of members looking to advance their careers. Unlike traditional software engineers, Jackson never went to high school or college; he instead set up his own business selling graffiti t-shirts and comedy tickets on
J Balvin, also known as the Prince of Reggaeton, has made a wholesome move to create an open discussion around mental health struggles by launching OYE, a bilingual wellness app. The app, currently available for download on the app store, was built by Latin creators in Spanish and English. It provides users with emotional check-ins and goal-setting exercises and promotes the idea of achieving a balance between emotional wellness, physical health, and interpersonal relationships. “After the pandemic, global youth – really everyone – is extremely burnt-out. Anxiety, depression, and feelings of being
Despite the controversy surrounding its facial recognition software, Clearview A.I. has found a new home amongst public defenders. The move, described as a “P.R. stunt to try to push back against the negative publicity,” has begun allowing public defenders to access its facial recognition database, which holds more than 20 billion facial images. The controversy explained Earlier this year, the controversial facial recognition program found itself amid legal drama after being fined more than £7.5 million by the U.K.’s privacy watchdog. The fine came after a few senators called on federal agencies
“Done is better than perfect” is Tanya Sam’s mantra. Real Housewives of Atlanta star Tanya Sam has said goodbye to reality TV and hello to the tech world. Since leaving reality television in 2020, Sam has worked to become a key figure in female entrepreneurship, particularly within the tech space. Prior to her transition into the tech industry, Sam was a nurse working in oncology and hematology before she first appeared on the hit Bravo series. “I was a registered nurse for 10 years,” Sam previously explained in an interview with Page
Brazil-based startup, Gen-t, is an organization at the forefront of medical evolution. The startup, founded by Lygia da Veiga Pereira in 2021, is a company built on advancing science and medical technology. Gen-t’s mission is to diversify global genomic data to help fasten medical breakthroughs and make novel discoveries based on different phenotypes. Despite being new, the organization has managed to raise $2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Eduardo Mufarej. “The field keeps saying that we need diversity, but most of the diversity in the world is in countries with
Lagos-based fintech, Duplo, has raised $4.3 million in seed funding. The seed funding round, led by Liquid2 Ventures, Soma Capital, Tribe Capital, Commerce Ventures, Basecamp Fund, and Y Combinator, will help Duplo launch new products and expand its business into new sectors in Nigeria. The fintech platform, founded by Yele Oyekola and Tunde Akinnuwa in September 2021, has become one of Nigeria’s top fintech platforms, helping African organizations seamlessly collect payments from their clients and partners. In February, the startup managed to raise $1.3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by pan-African VC firm
As Africa’s tech ecosystem grows, the demand for talent is soaring. For young Africans, digital skills have become ever-more important and attractive. In 2021, according to the Africa Developer Ecosystem Report (pdf), Africa’s developer community grew by 3.8%, bringing the total number of developers on the continent to 716,000. The average local developer in Africa is seven years younger than their global counterpart and has up to three years of experience. The pandemic drove increased adoption of remote work around the world, leading to international companies recruiting African developers at
Equitable inclusion platform 1000 Black Voices has partnered with The British Consulate to launch their accelerator program dedicated to helping support the ambitions of Black tech founders. The partnership will be focused on breaking down the obstacles faced by Black tech founders, particularly when scaling and growing their business. The program kicks off on September 21 and will run until the end of this year. “Ultimately, a lack of venture funding has resulted in a challenging environment for marginalized founders to tackle and get their business off the ground,” said 1000 Black
