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With the rise of social media and the impact it has in our lives, comes negative implications as well (like instagram scams). A lot of people have gained cult like following and they can do and undo with the amount of power they have over. So how does one avoid getting brainwashed and scammed is a topic so many people are interested in.

Instagram is one of the world’s most heavily used social media apps, with over a billion active users. This means that some significant level of scam goes on there as it is human nature for whatever channel that has that much people to attract all manners and sorts.

We have to start with ways people get scammed on Instagram (Instagram scam formats):

People asking for Help

A day does not go by, without hearing a sob story online. Some people go to the extent of lying about their conditions by posting pictures that look convincing. And despite the harsh economy, a lot of us are moved with compassion and we tend to believe these lies. This is sad because there are people who are in need genuinely but they don’t get the help they need.

Rich Beggars

We’ve heard that story before, the story of stranded millionaires who can not access their account due to one silly reason or the other and we have believed them because of the pictures they post online. Most times, these people look for those who are vulnerable and use them to perpetuate their evil actions.

Romance

Fine guy meet fine girl and they live happily ever after. Well, so we think. There are fake people who deceive innocent people with love proposals online. They manipulate them into doing things they will feel ashamed of later. Their victims may be deceived into thinking the feelings they have is real and will send their nude pictures, engage in phone sex which most times are used against them.

Shopping

With so many people bringing their products and services online, its hard to know who is genuine or not. So many people have paid for things they never received and they do not know how to get back their money.

We have identified some ways people get scammed on Instagram, so let look at ways you can avoid falling for these scams:

  1. When people come to ask you for help on Instagram, try to trust your gut. Don’t fall for whatever they say, question them and extract the truth. If you have the time, conduct a proper investigation before parting with your hard earned money.
  2. The next time, someone brings a stranded millionaire’s story and you feels the lie is getting to you. Don’t hesitate to speak up and confide in a loved one. Try to be wary of any offer that looks too good to be true because most times, it is so.
  3. There are so many dating apps online that are reliable, make use of them if you are looking for love.
  4. Try to make use of the pay on delivery option when shopping online. But if you fall unfortunately into the hand of a scammer, contact your bank immediately and ask them to stop the transaction. These days, there are so many ways you can use to retrieve your money from scammers

Remember all that glitters is not gold, so be careful whenever you log in into your Instagram account.

You may have been asked to provide Zip code for Nigeria when filing forms online. Many people mistakenly think that 234 is the Nigeria Zip Code. However, what you should provide as Nigeria ZIP Code is the postal code of your state. For example, Lagos state zip code or Abuja zip code, any of 110001, 300001, 400001, 900001  should work. Note, 234 is actually Nigeria’s international phone dialling code.

 

What is Zip Code?

ZIP Code (Zone Improvement Plan Code) is a postal code used by the United States Postal Service (USPS) to designate locations for mailing services. It was introduced in 1963 and the basic format consists of five digits. However, an extended format called ZIP+4, that includes the five digits of the ZIP Code, followed by a hyphen and four digits that designate a more specific location was introduced in 1983.

 

What is Zip Code for other countries?

In other countries Zip Code is same as Postal Code. Whenever you’re prompted to enter a Zip Code, just enter your postal code.

What is the Nigera Zip Code?

When anyone asks for Nigeria zip code list, you should provide a list of all Nigeria postal codes for different states. Some of them are 110001, 300001, 400001, 900001, 420001 and so on see below for specific zip codes/postal codes for each state.

 

The Difference Between Nigeria Zip Codes and Postal Codes

ZIP Code is used specifically in the United States of America for mailing services. However, outside the United States, many other countries including Nigeria use Postal Code.

The postal code in Nigeria and other countries is America’s equivalent of the ZIP Code.

 

How to Get Zip Code of Your Location in Nigeria

The Nigerian Postal Service provides an interface to help you get the specific zip/postal code of your Town, Area or Street. Follow the steps below

  1. Go to Nigerian Post Code Website Click Here
  2. Select Search By Urban Location or Search By Rural Location
    1. For Urban Location: Select your State, Town, Area, Street
    2. For Rural Location: Select your State, LGA, District and Town
  3. Click on Get PostCode to submit
  4. Your postal code will be displayed

What is the zip code of Lagos?

The Zip Code of Lagos is either 101001 for Lagos, Island or  100001 for Lagos, Mainland

Postal Codes / Zip Codes For States in Nigeria

  • Abia State  – 440001
  • Abuja FCT –  900001
  • Adamawa – 640001
  • Akwa-Ibom – 520001
  • Anambra – 420001
  • Bauchi – 740001
  • Borno  – 600001
  • Cross-River – 540001
  • Delta – 320001
  • Ebonyi – 840001
  • Edo  –  300001
  • Enugu – 400001
  • Imo  –  460001
  • Jigawa – 720001
  • Kaduna  – 8000014
  • Kano  –  700001
  • Katsina – 820001
  • Kebbi –  860001
  • Kogi  – 260001
  • Kwara  – 240001
  • Lagos, Island – 101001
  • Lagos, Mainland – 100001
  • Niger  – 920001
  • Ogun  –  110001
  • Ondo –  340001
  • Osun  – 230001
  • Oyo  –  200001
  • Plateau – 930001
  • Rivers –  500001
  • Sokoto – 840001
  • Taraba – 660001
  • Yobe  – 320001

There are certainly quite a lot of aged presidents and heads of state in several countries of the world. We have compiled a list of the oldest living presidents, heads of state or state leaders across the world.

This is a list of people currently serving as heads of state and/or government, president or ruler of an independent state or country. These are also current state leaders whose age are confirmed beyond reasonable doubt.

This list is restricted to people who are confirmed to be alive (at least within the last 3 years) and still in office. We hope to update this list at least on an annual basis with new information at our disposal.

Here we go!

Queen Elizabeth II – 95

Queen Elizabeth II has been the Queen of the United Kingdom and head of government since February 6, 1962 till date. Born in 1926 the Queen is currently aged 95 and was married to Prince Phillip (Duke of Edinburgh) who died in 2021.

Paul Biya – 88

Paul Biya is a dictator and President of Cameroon, a position he has occupied since November 1982! He has been in power for over 36 years. He is the longest serving non-royal (monarchial) leader in the world. Having run a one party system for decades, Biya reluctantly allowed multi party politics in the 1990s. However since then Biya has won every single election and most recently in 2018 won the Presidential election for another 7 years in office.

Michel Naim Aoun – 86

Michel serves as President of Lebanon since 31 October 2016. He was a former military officer who got appointed Prime Minister of a military government on 22 September 1988. After refusing to the newly elected Presidents Rene Moawad and Elias Hrawi he survived an assassination attempt on 12 October 1990.

He later fled into asylum in France, from Syrian forces, where he lived in exile for 15 years. In exile he founded the Free Patriotic Movement and later returned to Lebanon in 2005 after the withdrawal of Syrian troops.

He was elected to Parliament same year, with his party winning 21 seats thus forming the largest christian bloc and second largest bloc in parliament. In 2006 he signed a memorandum of understanding with Hezbollah kickstarting a major alliance that has remained since.

After getting endorsements from Lebanese forces, Progressive socialist party and Hezbollah he became the 13th president of Lebanon in 2016.

Mahmoud Abbas – 85

Abbas, born 15 November 1935, is the President of the state of Palestine and the Palestinian National Authority. He assumed office on 15 January 2005.

Abbas served as the first Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority from March to September 2003. Before that he led the PLO Negotiation Affairs department.

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud – 85

Salman has been King of Saudi Arabia since 23 January 2015. He is the 25th son of King Abdulaziz. Before becoming King he was governor of Riyadh for 48 years from 1963 to 2011 and then became appointed Minister of Defence. He was named Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia in 2012 and became King in 2015 upon the death of his half brother King Abdullah.

One of his notable achievements is the 2017 decree allowing Saudi women to drive.

Pope Francis – 84

Born Jorge Mario Bergoglio on 17th December 1936, Pope Francis is the head of the catholic church and sovereign leader of the Vatican city since 2013. He is the first to become Pope from the Americas.

He sits atop the Holy See – the universal government of the catholic church – from the Vatican city which itself is a sovereign, independent city state.

Harald V – 84

King Harald V is the king of Norway, he ascended the throne on 17 January 1991. As king he is the head of state of Norway (Norway is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy with a parliamentary system).

The King does not, by convention, have direct participation in government. He ratifies laws and royal resolutions, receives and sends envoys from and to foreign countries and hosts state visits. The King is also Supreme Commander of the Norwegian armed forces.

Cornelius A. Smith – 84

Cornelius is the Governor-General of the Bahamas. The Governor-General is a representative of the Bahamian monarchy (currently Queen Elizabeth II) and serves at the Queen’s pleasure (usually 5 years). Governor-Generals appoint the Prime Minister, as well as other government ministers after consultation with the Prime Minister.

Before becoming Governor-General, Cornelius was Ambassador to the United States, as well as Ambassador/Permanent Representative to the Organisation of American States.

Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah – 84

Al-Sabah is the Emir of Kuwait and Commander of the Kuwait military forces. The Emir is the country’s head of state, head of government and the country’s most powerful office. He became Emir on 30 September 2020 after his half brother Sabah Al Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah died.

Previously he was, at various times, Governor of Hawalli, Minister of Defence, Minister of Interior, Acting Minister of Labour, Deputy Chief of the Kuwait National Guard, Deputy Prime Minister.

Alpha Conde – 83

Alpha Conde is the current President of Guinea, a position he has held since December 2010. He became the first freely elected President of his country. In 2020 he won a presidential election for a controversial 3rd term in office amidst allegations of fraud.

This was after changing the constitution’s 2 term limit controversially to enable him extend his stay in power and run for another term.

** All ages are as of the time of publishing this article.

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Wondering about the countries with the fastest internet speed in Africa? These are the countries who have the fastest fixed broadband internet speed in Africa as at June 2021.

This ranking is according to the Speedtest Global Index which ranks mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds from around the world on a monthly basis.

Ghana, South Africa and Egypt lead the pack of African countries with the fastest internet speed. Ghana’s inclusion in the list will surely come as a surprise to lots of non-Ghanaians as South Africa and Egypt are expected to be somewhere at the top of a list of this nature.

Internet speed is becoming a very important factor in the overall technology development sector of any country. Most times the internet speed available in a country points to development strides going on in its tech sector and by extension its economy.

Here’s the ranking for internet (fixed broadband) speed in Africa by Mbps.

  1. Ghana – 53.2
  2. South Africa – 47.3
  3. Egypt – 42.4
  4. Madagascar – 38.6
  5. Ivory Coast – 37.3
  6. Seychelles – 37
  7. Senegal – 35.2
  8. Morocco – 28.3
  9. Mauritius – 25.6

Suggested Read: 10 Most Outdated Things People Still Use Everyday

If you are like most people you definitely wonder why your electricity bill is always outrageous. The answer is – there are probably appliances that suck your electricity most and cause the increasing bills you get.

Reducing your electricity bill starts with finding out which of the appliances are responsible for the hike in the first place. To do this you first have to realise how much energy a device or appliance consumes. You simply have to look for the wattage – how much watts or kilowatts (Kw) per hour a device uses in a month or year and then find ways to cut down on them.

You have to find the average number used for utility consumption rate by the energy commission or regulator in your country.

When you are finally able to breakdown how much Kilowatts per hour (kWh) each major appliance you use has, you can then check the utility bill from your energy provider and compare to the consumption numbers of each appliance. That way you see clearly which appliances are draining more electricity than others.

What to Do to Reduce Your Bill?

The major way is to reduce your electricity consumption or more practically reduce use of appliances that consume more electricity than others.

Generally these devices listed below are energy suckers and take up more electricity than other appliances. You will do well to regulate, reduce their use.

Hot water circulation pump

Set top box

Television

Air conditioners

Refrigerators

Water heater

Washing machines/cloth dryers

Water pump

Hair dryer

Dishwasher

Coffee maker

Microwave

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Like many English speaking societies Nigeria has, over time, crafted its own unique Nigerian English and Pidgin words – new phrases that has gradually sunk into daily use and communication.

The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) seems to have acknowledged the importance and relevance of these Nigerian English words in everyday communication as it has added about 29 of them to the English dictionary.

In its release notes announcing new updates, the dictionary states that the majority of these new additions are either borrowings from Nigerian languages, or unique Nigerian coinages that have only begun to be used in English in the second half of the twentieth century, mostly in the 1970s and 1980s.

The dictionary talked about interesting Nigerian English word such as buka (bukateria), danfo, k-leg etc.

See below a list of the new Nigerian English words and senses added to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) in this update;

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Years after most African countries colonised by the Europeans have gained their independence there are increasing calls for Europe to return the various cultural artifacts and treasures they stole from the African continent.

As Europe colonised Africa they plundered the continent and carted away its rich cultural artifacts and heritage to their European museums.

Here are some of the best artifacts and cultural treasures that has been stolen from Africa by the Europeans during the course of colonisation.

Benin Bronzes

Benin bronzes

These are one of the most famous artefacts stolen by the British. The Benin bronzes are a collection of sculptures made of brass that adorned the royal palace of the Oba of Benin, Ovonramwen Nogbaisi.

The pieces were carved usually out of brass, ivory, ceramic and wood and were cast for the ancestral altars of past kings and queen mothers.

In 1897 during an expedition against Benin, bronze sculptures and plaques, innumerable royal objects were taken as a result of the mission and are scattered all over the world.

Man Eaters of Tsavo

Man Eaters of Tsavo

At the end of the 19th century two lions from the Tsavo region in Kenya killed and ate railway workers who were building the railway line between Mombasa and Lake Victoria over nine months in 1898.

British engineer Lieutenant Colonel John Patterson, who was heading the project, later shot dead the two killer beasts.

The stuffed lions were purchased from Patterson by the Field Museum of Natural History in the US city of Chicago in 1925 and catalogued into the museum’s permanent collections. The Kenya National Museum now want the lions returned.

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone

The Rosetta Stone is a broken part of a bigger slab with text carved on to it that has helped researchers learn how to read Egyptian hieroglyphs – a form of writing that used pictures as signs.

It has three columns of the same inscription in three languages: Greek, hieroglyphs and demotic Egyptian – and is the text of a decree written by priests in 196 BC, during the reign of pharaoh Ptolemy V.

It is unclear how the stone was discovered in July 1799, but there’s a general belief that it was found by soldiers fighting with the French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte as they were building an extension to a fort near the town of Rashid – also known as Rosetta – in the Nile Delta.

When Napoleon was defeated, the British took possession of the stone under the terms of the Treaty of Alexandria in 1801.

It was then transported to England, arriving in Portsmouth in February 1802. George III offered it to the British Museum a few months later.

The Maqdala Treasures

Maqdala Treasures

The Maqdala treasures include an 18th Century gold crown and a royal wedding dress, taken from Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia) by the British army in 1868.

According to Historians, 15 elephants and 200 mules were needed to cart away all the loot from Maqdala, Emperor Tewodros II’s northern citadel capital.

The British raided Maqdala in protest at the detention of its consul when relations between the two powers deteriorated.

Maqdala Wedding Dress

The crown, admired for its silver and copper filigree designs and religious embossed images, and royal wedding dress are significant symbols of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.

Scholars believe the crown was commissioned in the 1740s by Empress Mentewwab and her son King Iyyasu and given as a gift to a church in Gondar, together with a solid gold chalice.

The dress and jewellery belonged to Emperor Tewodros II’s widow, Queen Woyzaro Terunesh.

Bangwa Queen from Cameroon

The Bangwa Queen is a 32in (81cm) tall wooden carving  from Cameroon, representing the power and health of the Bangwa people.

It is one of the world’s most famous pieces of African art and has huge sacred significance for Cameroonians.

Sculptures were made of titled royal wives or princesses and would be referred to as Bangwa Queens in the Bangwa land of present-day Lebialem district of Cameroon’s South-West region

The Bangwa Queen was believed to have either been given to or looted by the German colonial agent Gustav Conrau around 1899 before the territory was colonised.

It ended up in the Museum für Völkerkunde in Berlin and was then bought by an art collector in 1926.

The Dapper Foundation in Paris, France now owns the Bangwa Queen sculpture – and it was on display at the Musée Dapper until 2017 when the museum that focused on African art closed because of low attendance and high maintenance costs.

Traditional leaders of the Bangwa have been corresponding with the foundation, requesting its return to Cameroon.

Soapstone Birds of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe Soapstone Birds (Artifacts and Treasures Stolen from Africa)

A soapstone sculpture of a fish eagle is Zimbabwe’s main national emblem. Eight of the Zimbabwe Birds were looted from the ruins of an ancient city.

Only eight of the birds were ever recovered. They stood on the walls and monoliths of the ancient city built between the 12th and 15th Centuries by the ancestors of the Shona people.

Credits: The BBC 

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Your total assets or net worth, essentially, is the dollar measure of your resources or assets minus your liabilities. You can work out your total assets by taking away your liabilities (debts) from your resources. On the off chance that your resources/assets surpass your liabilities, you will have a positive total asset. On the other hand, if your liabilities are more prominent than your resources, you will have a negative net worth.

For specific applications, be that as it may, this fundamental total assets computation may not be sufficient. In the event that you hold copyrights, licenses or other intellectual property (IP), you might have to work out your “tangible” total assets (net worth), which is the amount of all your tangible resources minus the aggregate sum of your liabilities.

What is Tangible Net Worth

In the sense that it totals your assets and liabilities, your physical or tangible net worth is similar to your financial net worth, but it goes a step further. Any intangible assets, such as copyrights, goodwill, patents, and other intellectual property, are subtracted.

For example, businesses compute tangible net worth to evaluate the company’s liquidation value if it were to discontinue operations or be sold. Individuals who are looking for personal or small business loans and the lender requires a “genuine” net worth figure may find this figure useful. Your lender might be interested in your monetary assets – and how much the lender could reclaim if you failed on your debt and had to liquidate your possessions.

Tangible Versus Intangible Assets

The difference between net worth and tangible net worth assessments is that the former includes all assets, while the latter excludes non-tangible assets. All you have that can be converted into cash is referred to as an asset. Assets, according to this definition, include cash, investments, and real estate. (land and permanent structures linked to the property, such as houses), and personal goods (everything else that you own such as cars, jewellery, boats and furniture).

Intangible assets, on the other hand, are assets that cannot be held in your hands. Intangible assets include trademarks, goodwill, copyrights, patents, trademarks, and intellectual property, which cannot be seen or touched but are nonetheless valuable.

Calculating Your Tangible Net Worth

The following is a simple formula for measuring your tangible net worth:

Tangible Assets (Net Worth) = Total Assets – Intangible Assets – Liabilities

Calculating your net worth for the first time will most likely take the longest. The approach will likely take less time if you figure out the methodology and how to appraise your assets. Here’s how to do it step by step.

You can also keep track of your net worth using tools like Google or Excel Spreadsheets, and other online personal finance apps available below:

  1. Personal Capital

    Best free automated net worth tracking app. Personal Capital has a high level of automation. You can see your net worth in near real-time by syncing your asset and liability accounts (bank accounts, brokerage accounts, mortgages, and so on). Personal Capital is the simplest solution on the list because it requires no effort from you once your bank accounts are linked.

  2. Ynab

    Best budget integration. My favourite budgeting app is YNAB (and the one I use). Its zero-based budgeting concepts make it simple to manage and remain on track with your spending. An integrated net worth tracking solution is available within YNAB. This is how it goes.

    All of your accounts, assets, and liabilities should be linked. YNAB then generates reports that reflect your net worth. The most significant disadvantage of YNAB’s net worth tracking is that you must manually change the balances of your investment accounts.

  3. Tiller Money

    Best spreadsheet net worth tracking. Tiller Money is the way to go if you want to track your net worth using Google Sheets or Excel rather than an app. Tiller is a program that automates the download of financial data into your preferred spreadsheet application.

    It simplifies the most inconvenient aspect of using spreadsheets for personal finances: manually adding transactions. You’ll get a template spreadsheet with net worth tracking when you sign up with Tiller.

Final Thoughts

Even if you intend to calculate your net worth using one of the many online tools or applications, it’s a good idea to do it manually at least once—you’ll get the most out of the statistics that way. While you can do the work using a pencil and paper and a calculator, a spreadsheet tool like Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets can handle the calculation for you and lessen the chances of making a mistake.

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The world moves at a pace where things we used some years ago suddenly become outdated. What are some of the most outdated things people still use everyday?

We looked at the answers to this question on an online forum and some of them are truly incredible. What some people still use everyday that you might consider outdated.

  • A Notebook: For people who are tech savvy they can’t remember the last night they used a jotter or notebook. However for many people they still make use of notebooks everyday, at school, at work etc.
  • A Calculator: With phones becoming so ubiquitous you would think calculators would have gone extinct. Well, not quite. Lots of people, accountants, business owners, etc still use a proper calculator (HP, Cacio etc) on their desk everyday. Old habits die hard, I guess
  • A Flip Phone: A user said they are like dinosaurs. Surprisingly in some parts of the world lots of people still use flip phones. This article shows how many people still use flip phones in Japan, in 2019!
  • Windows 7: You will be surprised how many people use a computer running on Windows 7 OS. One user hilariously said the fan will randomly go off when he has like 3 tabs on and shut down.
  • Typewriters: Yes, Typewriters are still used in lots of places in the developing world, India and Nigeria as an example.
  • Watches: Watches should be outdated already with phones everywhere that people use to tell the time. Still, millions of people still spend significant sums on watches and wear them everyday. We guess they are more like fashion items these days.
  • Print Newspapers: In many places around the world people still rely on print newspapers for their daily information and news. This may not be your reality if you are able to access the internet for all the news and information you need. However millions of people still buy and read the printed newspapers.
  • CDs: Lots of people still use compact disks especially to play music on their disk players or save stuff on their computers. In the current world of streaming, bluetooth file sharing etc you would think CDs would have been gone forever but no, they are still very much around.
  • Wooden Pencils: Lots of people in schools, artists, architects still use wooden pencils everyday despite the availability of new means like pens, plastic, mechanical pencils and even software for writing, drawing etc
  • Playstation 2: You will be surprised how many people still use their old playstation for games despite much more newer, modern versions available.

What other outdated things do you see people still use everyday? You can let us know in the comments.

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If you are a young African entrepreneur looking for funding the Google Black Founders Fund grant could be exactly what you need.

This is a Google for Startups program that gives access to funding to black-founded startups in Africa.

Google for Startups Black Founders Fund Africa supports early-stage Black-founded startups and startups that are benefitting the Black community on the continent.

The Program Overview

We want to bridge the existing fundraising gap for Black startup founders in Africa’s fast-growing technology landscape. This non-dilutive $3 million fund is allocated across a pipeline of 50 investable startups in Africa. The fund is open to all startups that meet the criteria, with priority given to Google for Startups Accelerator and Partner program alumni. This fund will be given along with mentorship support and Google platform credits to help the startups grow.

Who Should Apply?

The Black Founders Fund is intended for startups with self-identifying Black leaders or companies directly supporting the Black community. We encourage established startups based in Africa who are seeking seed-stage funding to apply. Applications are open now through July 7, 2021

Some FAQs

  • Which Countries are Eligible? – We’re currently accepting applicants from the following countries in Africa: Botswana, Cameroun, Cote D’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zimbabwe
  • Who is Eligible? -Here’s our eligibility criteria:A startup that is:
    • Headquartered in Africa or has a legal presence on the continent
    • Building for Africa and a global market
    • Creating jobs, has growth potential to raise more funding, and making an impact

    With a founding team that is:

    • Diverse, with at least one Black C-level founding member
    • Directly supporting the Black community

    Technical requirements:

    • Technology startups with a live product in market or business where technology is core to their ability to scale (not for consultancies or not-for-profits)
    • Compatibility with Google products—our products can accelerate their growth

You can find more details on How to Apply for the Google Black Founders Fund grant Here

Check out more of our business posts especially this one on How to Raise Small Startup Capital the unconventional way