LATEST TECH NEWS: Pinterest gets first black board member. 4 other things and a trivia you need to know today, August 18, 2020

These 5 latest stories from the tech space will keep you updated with trends today:

1. Pinterest gets first black board member

 

Former Harpo Studios executive Andrea Wishom has reportedly joined Pinterest, becoming the first black person on the company’s board of directors. Press reports have noted that, although, the former Harpo executive was the first black on the board, her appointment made her the 3rd female on the board, coming after two other female directors. Four years ago, Pinterest had welcomed its first female board member with the appointment of Michelle Wilson, a former Amazon executive.

Speaking with press, Wishom expressed her excitement on her new appointment. According to her, she would support the team to deliver its interest and vision. “I’ve spent my entire career inspired to take on challenges both creatively and culturally. I’m particularly interested in Pinterest’s expansion into content and media. I’m equally interested in Ben’s vision of having a new type of conversation between employees and the board itself. Part of meeting this moment is looking outside the expected and bringing different perspectives to the table. There are real challenges to address, and that responsibility is not lost on me. I’m committed to listening and sharing my perspective and providing guidance as Pinterest continues to make positive strides forward,” she said.

2. Founder Institute opens startup accelerator programme in Nairobi

For the first time, world’s largest pre-seed startup accelerator, Founder Institute, has opened its accelerator program in Nairobi, Kenya. This comes after the Silicon-Valley based program had hosted chapters in over 200 cities worldwide. According to the board, the programme will target early-stage startups in the country. Founder Institute, as an organisation, provides high-potential entrepreneurs and teams with the support network and structured growth process needed to get to traction and funding.

Industry insight revealed that the organisation, since 2009, has helped over 4,300 Alumni raise over $950M funding, get into seed-accelerators, generate traction, recruit a team, build a product, transition from employee to entrepreneur, and more. According to plans, the Founder Institute will host several free online startup events in Nairobi, to celebrate the launch. It is expected that the startup founders will, during their engagement, learn from top entrepreneurs and hear more about the program from the comfort of your home.

Tech Trivia:

Which of these is the most efficient keyboard layout?

A. QWERTY
B. Dvorak
C. Colemak
D. AZERTY

Answer: See end of post

3. South Africa’s LightWare closes $1.5 million investment

South African company LightWare LiDAR has secured an investment of $1.5 million (R25-million) from Sanari Capital growth. The investment will take African tech startup to new heights, establishing LightWare in the global industry. According to media, the investment funding provided will allow LightWare to rapidly create a series of innovative products using technology. Investment log revealed that the firm was backed by 27four, Sanari Capital’s Lower and Mid Market Fund.

 

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Commenting on the development, Moushmi Patel, Partner at Sanari Capital, acknowledged that the startup had positioned itself to attract investment from equity investors. “Not only does LightWare present an opportunity for attractive financial returns, confirmed by its profiling by Silicon Valley veteran investment bank, Woodside Capital Partners, as one of the leading 99 growth companies globally expected to prosper amidst the pandemic, but it is also supportive of Sanari’s focus on ‘Doing Good whilst Doing Well’. We are pleased that LightWare can play such an important role in the COVID-19 response, promoting the South African industry on a global platform and creating jobs and skills for our local market,” he said.

4. Egypt and Tunisia fintech startups make Finance Forward accelerator’s list

North African startups have been listed among the 12 selected for Village Capital’s Finance Forward MENA accelerator. The programme, which offers five peer-selected companies a share of US$150,000 in funding from MetLife Foundation, was institutionalised by Village Capital. The Finance Forward MENA initiative is part of a multi-year global coalition formed by founding partners MetLife Foundation and PayPal to support entrepreneurs building tech-enabled solutions to challenges around financial health.

According to media reports, twelve startups made the selection. From Egypt, three startups which included PayMint, Khazna, and Valify Solutions, were shortlisted. In Tunisia, We-Settle, a Fintech player, made the list. The accelerator will provide the startups with five weeks of online and in-person training focused on improving their business models and making their financial health solutions available to those who need them most in the current economic climate. Startups will work closely with mentors, potential clients and partners, and investors.

5. TikTok launches info hub to clear U.S. misconceptions

Short video streaming platform TikTok has reportedly launched a new website and Twitter account in a bid to combat what it says are unfounded accusations that the popular social media app is a risk to U.S. security. This comes two weeks after President Trump signed an executive order demanding that TikTok’s parent company, China-based ByteDance, sell its U.S. operations by September 20.

Although, the deadline has been extended to November 12, TikTok has noted that its decision to fly info hub was to set the record straight. “With rumors and misinformation about TikTok proliferating in Washington and in the media, let us set the record straight.” It revealed that data linked to U.S.-based TikTok users is stored in Virginia with a back-up in Singapore, and includes a system that has “strict controls on employee access.” Adding that it “has never provided any U.S. user data to the Chinese government, nor would it do so if asked.”

Tech Trivia Answer: Colemak

Designed by Shai Coleman, Colemak is an alternate QWERTY layout that changes the position of 17 keys to reduce the movement of your fingers by over 50% (the ZXCV keys are the same on the bright side, so undo, cut, copy and paste should be the same).

As shown in tests run by Carpalx, Colemak uses the home row 74% of the time versus 34% for QWERTY, not to mention that the latter requires a 193% increase in base effort.

Dvorak also beats QWERTY in efficiency but its layout isn’t as intelligent as Colemak, which distributes loads more evenly between your left and right hands, places a greater burden on your strongest fingers (index and middle) while simultaneously putting your pinkies to greater use. Additionally, Dvorak changes more keys on a QWERTY board than Colemak does, making it harder to learn with less potential results.

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