Hello Geekz Insider,

Since 1987, Forbes has been tracking billionaires around the world. It took two decades for the billionaire count to surpass 1,000. By 2017, that number reached 2,000.

Now, eight years later, we've hit another milestone: this year's ranking includes 3,028 entrepreneurs, investors, and heirs—247 more than last year.

Notably, there are two new Black entrants on the list. There would have been three, but unfortunately, former NBA legend and business mogul Ulysses Lee “Junior” Bridgeman has recently passed away.

Let’s dive into this week’s stories.

Top Stories 📰

Story 1: Forbes has just released its annual World's Billionaires list, and this year’s ranking includes 3,028 billionaires. Twenty-three are Black, representing 0.8% of the total, and fourteen of these billionaires are citizens of the United States.

Story 2: We ended the last day of Women’s History Month with a listicle highlighting seven female changemakers making waves in STEM and Technology.

Story 3: Two Yale University juniors secured $3.1 million within 14 days to build Series, an AI-powered social network that makes meaningful introductions for mutual value.

Hot News 🔥

1. The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurs has announced a transformative $2 million grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation.

2. Y Combinator-backed Djamo has secured $17 million to expand its product suite across Francophone West Africa.

3. LYS Beauty, the clean cosmetics brand founded by Tisha Thompson, has secured $15 million in Series A funding to support its next growth phase. 

   Opportunities - Accelerators/Funding, Events.💼 

Accelerators 🚀

1. Y Combinator is accepting applications for the Winter 2025 Batch funding cycle, which will take place from January to March in San Francisco.

2. Techstars Accelerator provides funding, mentorship, hands-on training, and access to Techstars' global network of VC investors, corporate partners, and alumni founders.

3. The Propellant Labs is a startup accelerator offering different programs to help entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses.

4. FoundersBoost, a global pre-accelerator program, is an equity-free opportunity to take your business to the next level. 

5. Northwestern Mutual Black Founder Accelerator® invests in up to ten companies per year (two cohorts of five) focused on fintech, insuretech, digital health, and data analytics.

6. Famous Amos and the U.S. Black Chambers, Inc. (“USBC”) are partnering to launch a national program that provides a total of $150k.

7. Peachscore + Dealum hosts 12 cohorts annually, offering startup founders the flexibility to join immediately upon acceptance and get up to $150k, no matter when they apply.

    Grants💰

1. $150k Investment | Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation aims to find social entrepreneurs with dynamic ideas and nurture them at the early stages with maximum leverage and total commitment.🗓️ Apply on a rolling basis:

2. $20k | Santander’s Cultivate Small Business helps early-stage entrepreneurs build and sustain businesses in the food industry, with a focus on historically underserved founders in low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods. 🗓️ Apply by 7/8:

3. Up to $15k | The Catalyst Fund by The Roddenberry Foundation makes grants between $2.5k - $15k to anyone with an early-stage idea or project that addresses pressing global challenges 🗓️ Apply on a rolling basis:

4. Up to $15K | Restaurant Business Development Grant Program cohorts will receive 6 months of consultations followed up with educational training services, $15k, and continuous training and services to help maintain their business. 🗓️ Apply by 4/15: 

5. Up to $10k | Each qualifying nonprofit has access to up to $10,000 per month in search ads shown on Google.com. Additional Google Ads may be purchased in a separate account. 🗓️ Apply on a rolling basis: 

6. $23k | Dream Business Bundle Grant is packed with over $23k in cash & incredible small business services to fuel your growth & supply you with everything you need to be successful as an entrepreneur.

   🗓️ Apply by 4/30

   Events🎟️

Bringing together over 1,200 women engineers and leaders, this conference offers networking opportunities and discussions on topics such as workplace culture and technical innovation.

Date: April 17, 2025

Location: Chicago, IL, USA

A new event by Meta focusing on advancements in open-source AI, aiming to aid developers in creating apps and products.

Date: April 29, 2025

Location: To be announced

Thank you for joining us in this edition of Geekz Insider. We hope our shared stories and opportunities ignite your career goals and entrepreneurial spirit and fuel your drive to innovate. From dynamic founders to transformative AI programs and life-changing grants, there’s something here to inspire everyone.

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Written by Stephen Oluwadara and produced by Gugu Nxumalo