Growing up, you likely heard the phrase, “If it ain’t one thing, it’s another,” or “There’s always something going on.” The deeper you get into adulthood, the more phrases like those become a reality. And the current state of the job market is prime evidence. Since late 2022, companies have been announcing significant layoffs that have affected thousands of people. As 2023 began, those announcements seemed to pick up, especially regarding big tech. While the people affected by layoffs feel it the most, companies have noted the challenges and tough decisions it required to take these steps. Recently, Vice Media, Clubhouse, Paper Magazine, and Dropbox have become the latest major organizations announcing employment changes.

The old saying goes, “it takes money to make money.” That sentiment is usually engrained in the idea that much economic success does not occur without some investment. But how does investment happen? A straightforward answer to that question is sales. Many of a particular generation remember when someone in our family sold a home good or cosmetic product (shout out to all the Mary Kay reps). This was likely the first introduction to the sales industry. But beyond the aunties that were hustling their products, sales have always existed in and around people. From big corporate companies to nonprofits and the tech industry – securing contracts, partnerships, and investment is a result of the work of people who are a part of sales teams. While the job market is all over the place, the sales industry is positioned to remain intact. But it does not come without challenges. Due to the potential for professionals to have lucrative careers, the demand for the industry has been consistent...

Twitter and Elon Musk have been at the center of many conversations over the last several weeks. From declining membership on Twitter’s board to its controversial acquisition, Twitter and Musk have now introduced the world to the next saga of their rocky relationship. In a tweet, Musk wrote that he put the multi-billion-dollar deal on a temporary hold after a report revealed that the social media network contained less than five percent of fake or spam Twitter accounts.

According to a report, two percent of global cryptocurrency transactions are currently housed in Africa — an alarming statistic for a continent housing over one billion people who serve as the demographic for the smallest cryptocurrency market in the world. On a mission to change this, TechCrunch reports Nelly Chatue-Diop founded Ejara to serve as a cryptocurrency and investment platform within Francophone Africa. Little did she know, a financial crisis she experienced at a young age due to the devaluation of the CFA franc in 1994, would lead her to launch the tech company, which would provide additional avenues to accumulate income. Now — just about a year after its launch — Ejara has raised a $2 million seed funding round led by CoinShares Ventures and Anthemis Group. Other participants included angel investors Pascal Gauthier of Ledger and Jason Yanowitz of Blockworks along with a syndicate social fund, Lateral Capital, Mercy Corps Ventures, LoftyInc Capital and NetX Fund.

After attending Florida A&M University for four years, Tunji Fadiora decided to drop out to launch Creative Culture Media in Jacksonville, FL. While working to provide support for small businesses, Fadiora was compelled to enhance his efforts to help entrepreneurs. Designed to cater to Black and brown founders, Elev8 Ventures was launched in 2018. The entrepreneurial community is committed to providing substantial resources to spur development for minority founders. Fadiora wanted to ensure individuals had access to competitive programs not contingent upon their economic status or geographical location. “We are evening the playing field. Resources are very accessible to certain groups of people in certain economic groups but Black and brown founders, people who look like us, are not used to having resources,” Fadiora told AfroTech. “So, we want to focus on the people who need these services more.”

In the wake of the social uproar following the height of the Black Lives Matter Movement , companies began taking action to call for change. Companies like Google, specifically, recognized racial bias and social equity were prevalent issues in the tech industry that needed to be solved. As of recent, they are continuing to combat these issues today with the announcement of Google Women’s Techmakers’ new campaign celebrating Black women in the tech industry. The campaign “Black Women in Tech” aims to encourage the future generation by sharing the success stories of Black women pioneers. “Black women are underrepresented in the tech industry, and their contributions are not widely acknowledged and celebrated. The ‘Black Women In Tech’ campaign will highlight the stories, experiences, and expertise of Black women in the American tech industry through things like community stories shared by Black women within and outside of Google,” Google shared in a press release.

Instagram has announced that it will continue to combat harassment on the site with a new anti-harassment tool called Limits. TechCrunch is reporting that Limits will give users the option to “lockdown” their accounts when they’re being flooded with harassing comments. The social media giant says that they were inspired to test out this new feature in the wake of the Euro 2020 final, when the Black soccer players on England’s team were subjected to a flurry of racist abuse in the wake of their team’s loss to Italy. “Maybe you’re in high school and you are going through a breakup or you just switched schools. Or maybe you are a professional footballer and you’re receiving a lot of harassment,” said Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, in a statement to TechCrunch, when asked how Limits could be useful in different situations. “Whatever it is, we know that people sometimes are in temporary moments of real risk of pain, and we want to give them tools to protect themselves in those...