DAWN

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Business

Business Commentary: Welcome to 2022! By Monica Melton, Managing Editor, The Plug

WELCOME TO 2022! With the current surge in a new variant of Covid-19, a post-pandemic world • seems to be one in which the virus, and all its upheaval, will be with us for the foreseeable future. Communities have now lived through the calamitous effects of the virus for more than two years but we’re only just beginning to scratch the surface of the wider-ranging future implications of zoonotic viruses on our health, way of life and how we conduct business. Applying ‘the Covid factor’, The Plug has identified four key areas of growth and challenge that will matter most to the Black innovation economy. •

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Codifying policy to support communities of color most impacted by Covid-19: The virus has taken a steep death toll in Black and Latinx communities. As a result, more federal funding and policy may come about to usurp the effects of the ongoing pandemic. A testing ground for NFTs, crypto investments, DAOs and a nascent Web3: While the uniqueness of NFTs has come into question investors in this commodity saw gains through 2021. The financial underpinnings of cryptocurrency and mainstream appeal may also provide a crash course into this space for novice investors, but the masses will increasingly want evidence that these tech-enabled solutions are a better alternative to existing systems. The decentralized nature of these technologies has been often associated with advancing marginalized communities. Breaking up with traditional venture capital: The numbers have hardly budged over the years for Black founders seeking venture investments. Increasingly traditional firms, DAOs and new, alternative investment vehicles will emerge, led by Black founders. January-February 2022

Even in majority Black emerging markets (think sub-Saharan Africa) the pattern of more male founders accessing funding than women is being replicated, which begs the question, can VC be saved from its propensity toward inequity? The excluded may not wait around for an answer, but build something better instead. Even more robust digital collaboration tools: As Zoom-fatigue set in and we took to the metaverse to do the same things we did in existing digital spaces, tech that brings us together but integrates more IRL charm will become all the rage. Whether it’s real-time synchronization, which audio-only platforms capitalized on this time last year or more shared digital experiences, business, socializing and life will continue to be lived online in a major way. Rising technologies will need to factor in privacy, protecting against hate speech, and monetization for online community leaders and trendsetters. There’s also room for the next Calendly to emerge and dominate how the enterprise schedules and conducts itself online.

It’s easy to take a pessimistic view, but with challenge comes opportunity and the Black innovation economy won’t wait for opportunity, so much as create it. www.tpinsights.com Image credit: The Plug

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Five Great Books from Africa to Read This Year

1min
page 115

Celebrity Chef Kwame Onwuachi Releasing Cookbook Featuring Dishes from the Diaspora

7min
pages 112-114

The BAL Wins International Sports Awared

2min
page 110

Meet the First 10 Winners of Chanel’s ‘Next Prize’ for International Artists

1min
page 109

Kenya’s Tennis Star Angella Okutoyi

2min
page 111

As Africa’s Artifacts Start to be Returned, What About its Films?

7min
pages 106-108

Congolese Chef Dieuveil Malonga Wants to Have the First Michelin Star Restaurant in Africa

2min
page 105

The Most Rev. Desmond Tutu - Obituary

16min
pages 100-104

Forbes 50 Over 50: EMEA 2022

6min
pages 94-97

In pictures: The Life of Archbishop Desmond Tutu

2min
pages 98-99

FYI: A Twitter Feature that Banishes Spoilers and Trolls from your Feed

4min
pages 92-93

Data & Trust Alliance Group Fighting Artifi cial Intelligence Bias in the Work Force

1min
page 88

FBI Warning: Crooks are Using Fake QR Codes to Steal Your Passwords and Money

8min
pages 89-91

Helping Black Families Build Dream Homes Secure Land in Ghana

2min
page 87

Rapper Nas Joins Andreessen Horowitz in Africa Gaming Investment

1min
page 86

Kelauni Jasmyn’s BTN.vc Raises $25M to Invest in Black-Led Tech Startups

3min
pages 84-85

Why is the World’s Largest Crypto Exchange Sponsoring the Africa Cup of Nations?

3min
pages 82-83

4DX Ventures Closes Second Fund with $60M

5min
pages 80-81

Self-Driving Vehicle Startup Will Make Healthcare Services More Accessible

2min
page 79

Acclaimed Actor Forest Whitaker Becomes Investor in NBA Africa

2min
page 77

Streaming Platform Adventr Raises $5M Seed Round, Investors Include John Legend & More

2min
page 78

Investing in the BAL’s Success: Room for Private Investment in African Sports

7min
pages 74-76

Bad News, London and New York: Finance Hubs Are Becoming Obsolete

5min
pages 72-73

African Stock Exchange/Bourse

2min
pages 70-71

Development Innovation Ventures

2min
page 69

FYI: The Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS)

0
page 68

Biden Hailed for Appointing 1st Somali American Senior Adviser to State Department

2min
page 67

The US has Removed Three African Countries from a Tariff -free Trade Program

4min
pages 64-65

Climate Change ‘Overtakes Pandemics as Biggest Global Concern’

2min
page 66

Hopes for a West African Single Currency Fade

5min
pages 62-63

President Akufo-Addo wins Forbes African of the Year 2021

4min
pages 60-61

How Africans and African-Americans can Honor Martin Luther King

6min
pages 56-58

Offi cial Launch of the African Union Centre for Post-confl ict Reconstruction and Development

2min
page 59

Build Unshakable Self Confi dence

2min
page 55

Africa’s New Generation of Health Innovators

4min
pages 48-49

The Scientist in Botswana who Identifi ed Omicron

7min
pages 50-53

Merck’s Covid-19 Pill to be Made by 11 Countries for Developing Nations in UN Deal

1min
page 54

African Food Brand Yolélé Receives $1.98M in Funding to Help Smallholder Farmers in Mali

2min
pages 46-47

Lusaka Entrepreneur Wins K1 Million in Zanaco Kweza Challenge

1min
page 45

Plans Unveiled for African Maglev Network

1min
page 44

New Rwanda Conservation Conference

2min
page 43

How RwandAir Found a Niche Despite a Turbulent 2021

4min
pages 40-41

Why Global Companies Should Enter the African Market

6min
pages 38-39

US Biotech Tycoon Opens Africa's First End to-End Covid-19 Jab Plant

1min
page 37

Tackle Extreme Poverty: Replace Dirt Floors

2min
page 36

MCC and Africa50 Sign MOU to Advance a New Global Infrastructure Platform

2min
page 33

Nigerians Try to Solve Housing and Trash Issues with an Innovative Method

3min
pages 34-35

Meet Mawa McQueen, the Ivory Coast Native Behind Aspen's Only Black-Owned Restaurants

4min
pages 26-27

Digital Marketing Trends for 2022

6min
pages 28-29

Why China is Becoming a Top Choice for Ghanaian Ph.D. Students

7min
pages 30-32

The 3-Step Cycle That's Enabling me to Redefi ne an Entire African Industry

6min
pages 24-25

2022 Digital Marketing Trends

6min
pages 22-23

Ease Your Business into Crypto

4min
pages 14-15

Amazon Prime Video Turns to Nollywood to Woo African Subscribers

2min
pages 18-19

Architect Tosin Oshinowo is Considered Nigeria's 'Beach House Queen,' Here's Why

2min
pages 16-17

Publisher's Message

2min
pages 4-6

Navalayo Osembo's Enda Secures $1.1M Investment to Produce Africa's First Running Shoe Brand

6min
pages 8-10

GarifunaRobics is Bridging the Gap Between Culture and Fitness

2min
page 11

4 Ways Work Will Look Diff erent in 2022

5min
pages 12-13

Business Commentary: Welcome to 2022

2min
page 7
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