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Startups in Nigeria like Prospa are taking action to help get more businesses running. As the fintech startup aims to provide small businesses with banking and software services, it has closed a $3.8 million pre-seed round which will help them achieve their mission. TechCrunch reports that Prospa — who especially caters to freelancers and entrepreneurs that typically have less access to resources for their businesses — just raised “the largest round of its kind in Nigeria and sub-Saharan Africa at the moment.” The founding team behind Prospa are Frederik Obasi, Chioma Ugo and Rodney Jackson-Cole. The trio started building Prospa between June and September 2019. According to TechCrunch, the team launched their startup in the act to “cheaply solve the needs of these small business owners in banking and software.” “There’s a massive startup ecosystem in the U.S. where you can basically grow a billion-dollar company just serving YC companies,” Obasi told TechCrunch. “We don’t have that...
Lizzo’s latest business venture has led her to the billion-dollar fitness industry. In a funding round said to be around $200 million for rowing startup Hydrow, the pop star is listed as an investor, CNBC reports. Singer Justin Timberlake was also included in the round. As more gyms reopen and people continue to return, Hydrow aims to remain as a top contender for at-home fitness. According to CNBC, partial funding will go toward ensuring the company can “meet the anticipated demand this holiday season.” “This puts us in the same category as the other leaders in the fitness industry,” Founder and Chief Executive Bruce Smith said. “Until now, we might have been a little bit under the radar because people thought of us as a smaller company. But we’re actually very ambitious.” Hydrow offers on-demand rowing classes and other fitness classes including pilates and yoga. As the at-home fitness rivalry rises, the startup looks to capitalize on its individuality. It also notes its user base...
It’s no secret that collegiate athletes have been cashing in on deals after recent changes to the name, image and likeness (NIL) laws. Now, one startup wants to help them take advantage of the changes by cashing in through another method — the monetization of video content. Curastory — a creator tool — helps student-athletes by “connecting brands in need of video content with athletes, influencers and actors who create video content and are willing to create directly for brands,” Sport Techie reports. “So if you have a video talking about your pregame meditation routine, multiple brands can sponsor that, like Calm,” Founder Tiffany Kelly told Sport Techie. “As opposed to making an influencer post for Calm, it’s natural. You don’t mention Calm, other than audio and logo attribution between breaks, and Calm’s logo just so happens to be on the video.” The unique technology not only allows athletes to have more creative power over their digital content, but Curastory also opens doors...
The worlds of cryptocurrency and Hip-Hop continue to collide. Rapper Ja Rule recently helped launch Flipkick.io — a non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace — alongside co-founders Robert Testagrossa and James Cropcho. According to Bitcoin.com, it’s “a full-service NFT marketplace that caters to artists, celebrities, and creators who want to monetize their work with physical NFTs.” “It’s just a smart thing to be able to authenticate physical artworks cryptographically and let these amazing artists be able to enjoy the fruits of their work and it was never possible before in the past. So I really applaud what Flipkick is as far as the physical NFT space,” Ja Rule told Bitcoin.com. Ja Rule’s love for the tech space drew him to hopping on board with Testagrossa and Cropcho to bring the unique idea of Flipkick to life. “As I got into NFTs I noticed a dope project and the whole angle was something different, which I really loved,” Ja Rule told Bitcoin.com. “The angle of taking physical works...