Gozem, a super app that provides a host of services — including transport, e-commerce, and financial services in Francophone Africa — has raised $5 million in Series A financing. The firm is present across 13 cities, having moved to Gabon and Cameroon with over 800,000 registered users and more than 5 million trips completed. The company, which is based in Togo and Singapore, raised funds from AAIC, Thunes (TransferTo), Momentum Ventures (SMRT), Innoport Ventures (Schulte Group), CMC Ventures (National Express), and Liil Ventures (Mobility ADO). Costamagna, in a statement, said
Greenwood, a mobile banking platform described as doing it for the culture, seeks to support the Black and brown community in their endeavors to generational wealth. Co-founded by former Atlanta Mayor Andrew Young, rapper-activist Michael “Killer Mike” Render, and Bounce TV founder Ryan Glover, Greenwood is not a bank itself; instead, it features banking services provided by Coastal Community Bank and will eventually provide financial management services. It reinvests in Black and Latino communities through monthly grants and recently launched a podcast group that specializes in financial literacy and investment
The climate of today means if you want to reach a widespread audience you need to utilize social media. One key tool for founders and those looking for new tech opportunities is Linkedin – it’s the place to go for job offers, meeting potential investors, building your company and personal brand, and networking. With more than 774 million members and its focus on business, LinkedIn offers a valuable opportunity for industry professionals to support their businesses marketing goals. From my experience, it seems to be the best place for building connections with
A Black-owned music NFT platform, powered by Trapchain, Inc, has collaborated with indie music artist and native Chicagoan Willie Taylor, to drop his first NFT for his music project, “Write My Wrongs.” Taylor first gained notoriety as a contestant from MTV’s “Making the Band 4”, where Sean Combs chose him (P-Diddy) to be a member and one of the main vocalists for the band Day26 on August 26. 360NFT’s launch and debut NFT release commemorate the band’s popularity and success. Its streamlined ecosystem reportedly makes it easy for users to thrive on the blockchain without
It was announced back in August that gBeta Medtech was on a mission to find Black founders for its end-of-year accelerator, and well – they found them and they’re pretty incredible. Five healthcare startups were chosen from more than 85 applicants for the 2021 Cohort, the first gBETA Medtech program specifically for Black founders. Each startup is receiving $34,000 in funding and “intensive, individualized coaching and access to gener8tor’s national network of mentors, customers, corporate partners, and investors.” Here’s a list of the startups chosen: bTECH’s Launched by Wendy Slone, bTECH’s
When creating a startup, you go through a few hurdles along the way – from financial challenges to picking the right co-founder that will help spearhead the company with you. It’s never an easy journey, and you should never believe anyone that tells you otherwise, so it’s always essential to have a mentor or an advisor who can share their mistakes and lessons – so you don’t make the same errors. Unfortunately, not everyone has the privilege of landing a mentor or sponsor that will give you the time of
Hosanna Hali, also well-known as the fairy tech mother, is a technology strategist at Microsoft and the founder of her own platform, “The Tech Cornr” which she uses to give advice on how to get into the industry. The 26-year-old Londoner sat down with POCIT to give the rundown on all things tech and social media. Okay, so let’s get straight into it. You’ve got almost 35K followers on social media and you’ve built a loyal community of tech lovers who turn to you for advice about the industry..had you
Deciding on the right type of funding for your business can be difficult. In fact, it’s considered one of the hardest and most stressful things you could do as it can make or break your startup. Every funding option has advantages and disadvantages, and some are better suited to certain types of businesses and business models. It’s important to explore the funding options available before deciding how to build your company as the route you take will have some serious consequences. Here we break down what some of the keywords
There have been dozens of stories written this year about people that used lockdown as a way to better themselves or to learn a new and beneficial skill but I don’t think many have had the privilege of hearing Asia Sharif’s story. The proudly Black and Muslim woman is inspiring for many reasons – one being that she is a self-taught ‘Junior Software Engineer and Blockchain Developer’ that used the pandemic as an opportunity to change career paths and teach herself how to code. The second reason is that she
Earl Newsome is the Chief Information Officer at Cummins, Inc. He has over 30 years of global IT leadership experience with Fortune 500 firms. In this interview, Earl discusses going from being raised all across the country by a single mom, to his career in the military, to now working for a global company. Hi Earl. Let’s Talk About Your Work At Cummins. I’ve been at Cummins for almost five months, and I’d describe my journey with Cummins in three words. First, it’s a very courageous company. During the onboarding
