TomorrowNow secures $5m from Gates Foundation. 2 other stories and a trivia

This line-up of stories will help you discover the latest happenings around the tech world, today

1. TomorrowNow secures $5m from Gates Foundation

A 501(c)3 non profit organization that connects next-generation weather and climate innovations with communities in need, TomorrowNow, has announced closing a $5 million grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Given the fresh capital injection, the nonprofit is poised to spearhead climate adaptation initiatives benefiting 20 million farmers across Africa.

This substantial funding injection is earmarked to enhance TomorrowNow’s flagship program, Osiris, which focuses on harnessing advanced weather and climate data services uniquely tailored for the African context.

Ripples Nigeria gathered that Osiris represents a strategic endeavor, aiming to amplify the value, adoption, and enduring sustainability of localized weather forecasts and historical climate datasets, specifically designed to empower the Small-Scale Producer (SSP) ecosystem in Africa.

Building on a prior $2 million grant in 2021 from the Gates Foundation, TomorrowNow, in collaboration with its partners, has already facilitated climate change adaptation for one million African farmers, underscoring the crucial role of improved access to localized weather data in the food system.

TomorrowNow aspires to impact an impressive 20 million smallholder farmers within the next three years.

Philip Frost, Climate Resilience Lead at TomorrowNow, when speaking on the development, said: “We are delighted to see donors such as the Gates Foundation place immense value on weather and climate data services in Africa as key solutions to climate change and local prosperity.”

Trivia: An asterisk (*) performs what mathematical function when used as an operator?

A. Add

B. Subtract

C. Multiply

D. Divide

See Answer below

2. IvendPay to revolutionize crypto payments with NFC-integrated system

Cryptocurrency payment technology firm, ivendPay, has announced introducing a cutting-edge crypto payment system leveraging near-field communication (NFC).

In a press release seen by Ripples Nigeria on Tuesday, the company highlighted the seamless integration of NFC technology with cryptocurrency payments, likening the experience to the ease of using traditional cards.

According to the release, users can now tap their NFC-equipped phones to initiate direct payments from their crypto wallets.

As part of this momentum, ivendPay has entered into a strategic partnership with Binance, solidifying its position as the global payment gateway for Binance Pay.

With an existing presence among approximately 400 active merchants across seven countries, ivendPay has ambitious plans to expand into European, Middle Eastern, and North African markets, as outlined in the press release.

By simplifying cryptocurrency payments to the speed and simplicity of traditional card transactions, ivendPay aims to expedite the widespread adoption of cryptocurrency in daily life.

3. Mozaic closes $20m funding to advance split payments for creators

US-based payment platform Mozaic has closed a $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Volition Capital.

With a total funding exceeding $27 million from notable investors including Rise of the Rest, Maverick Nashville, and music industry executive Joe Galante, Mozaic is dedicated to developing comprehensive tools for various facets of the music industry, from credit management to ticketing.

Recognizing the challenges faced by creators when collaborating with different partners on diverse projects, Mozaic (formerly Jammber) aims to address the intricate task of splitting payments.

Through an array of solutions, including APIs and Chrome extensions, the startup noted that it is committed to easing payment processes.

Initially concentrating on the business-to-business (B2B) aspects of the music industry, Mozaic underwent a strategic pivot in 2020, responding to the pandemic’s impact, to create a collaborative payments product.

To embrace the new direction, Mozaic launched the early beta of its collaborative payments product in January 2022.

The overarching objective is to furnish creators with a payment solution that transcends geographical constraints often associated with platforms like PayPal, CashApp, Venmo, and Zelle.

Trivia Answer: Multiply

An operator is a symbol within a mathematical expression that defines a specific operation. For example, the plus symbol (+) is an operator that represents addition.

Common operators include: + (add), – (subtract), * or x (mulitply), / or ÷ (divide), % or mod (modulus). Consider the calculation: 2 + 3 x 4 = 14. In the expression, + and x are operators, while the numbers 2, 3, and 4 are operands. 14 is the result (since the x operand takes precedence over the + operand).

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