POCIT

1 week ago | peopleofcolorintech.com | Habiba Katsha

There's never been a better time to be a reader. From Goodreads and The StoryGraph to BookTok and the book club boom, discovering your next read is easier than ever. In 2024, book club events on Eventbrite jumped 31% from the previous year, especially among Gen Z and millennials. Modern clubs now include activities like crafting and wine tastings, and formats like silent book clubs are growing. Yet, most still center books by white authors.

1 week ago | peopleofcolorintech.com | Habiba Katsha

South African tech academy WeThinkCode_ has been awarded $2 million in funding from Google's charitable arm, Google.org, to expand its AI training programs. The programs will provide 12,000 learners in South Africa and Kenya with the necessary tools to succeed in the job market. There is a significant digital skills gap on the continent, with 90% of companies being negatively impacted by the lack of AI skills, according to a recent SAP report.

1 week ago | peopleofcolorintech.com | Habiba Katsha

LemFi, a Nigerian-founded fintech company based in California, has acquired Pillar, a London-based startup focused on providing credit access to immigrants. Speaking to Semafor, LemFi CEO Ridwan Olalere confirmed that the deal was finalized in May. He said the acquisition will pave the way for LemFi to launch a credit card feature within its app. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed by either company.

1 week ago | peopleofcolorintech.com | Habiba Katsha

Fireflies.ai, an AI meeting assistant, has reached a $1 billion valuation, coinciding with the launch of its latest product, "Talk to Fireflies." Krish Ramineni and Sam Udotong founded the startup after meeting at the University of Pennsylvania, where they both studied, according to Tech Funding News. Udotong is a Nigerian American with a background in aerospace engineering and computer science. Ramineni, who is originally from India, worked at Microsoft before co-founding Fireflies.

1 week ago | peopleofcolorintech.com | Habiba Katsha

McDonald's has settled a $10 billion lawsuit by Byron Allen, who accused the company of "racial stereotyping" by excluding Black-owned media from much of its advertising budget, Reuters reports. The settlement between McDonald's and two of Allen's companies, Entertainment Studios Networks and the Weather Group, deters a scheduled July 15 trial in Los Angeles federal court.