Hello Geekz Insider,

Did Ryan Coogler, the acclaimed director of Black Panther, Creed, and the latest box office hit, Sinners, just change Hollywood with the unprecedented deal he struck with Warner Bros.

The agreement includes remarkable terms and challenges the long-standing norms around ownership, creative control, and revenue sharing. It is unprecedented and signals a change in Hollywood’s landscape.

Let’s dive into today’s stories.

Top Stories 📰

Story 1: Our UrbanGeekz reporter wrote an in-depth analysis of Ryan Coogler’s deal with Warner Bros.

Story 2: Have you read our ultimate review of the Southern Gothic Horror Blockbuster, ‘Sinners’?

Story 3: Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition has launched Fundable Founders Learning Lab to fuel the growth of entrepreneurs across Florida.

Hot News 🔥

1. Tennessee State University graduate Dorsey West is poised to launch HBCU$ next month to support HBCU alumni in their entrepreneurial journeys. 

2. Seven African healthtech startups have been selected for the third cohort of the Investing in Innovation Africa (i3) program, a pan-African initiative backed by the Gates Foundation, MSD, Sanofi, and others.

3. Aruwa Capital Management, a female-led private equity firm, has closed $35M for its gender-focused Fund II to expand its investments across Nigeria and Ghana.

4. Ghana-based energy tech company, Kofa, has secured $8.1 million in a pre-Series A funding round to expand its battery-swapping network across urban Africa.

5. B2B e-commerce OmniRetail has raised $20 million in Series A funding to expand its operations in Nigeria, Ghana, and Ivory Coast.

   Opportunities - Accelerators/Funding, Events.💼 

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. Up to $100k | Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) is an innovation competition for resilient rebuilding and climate action to welcome the world in 2028. 🗓️ Apply by 5/30:

3. $20K | Santander’s Cultivate Small Business helps early-stage entrepreneurs build and sustain food industry businesses, focusing on historically underserved founders in low-to-moderate-income neighborhoods.  🗓️ Apply by 7/8:

4. $20K | Robin Hood Blue Ridge Labs Founder Fellowship will help you validate your idea, build your MVP, and gain real traction with hands‑on workshops, user testing, mentorship, funding, coworking, and network access. 🗓️ Apply by 6/8: 

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

6. 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: 

Accelerators 🚀

1. Y Combinator is accepting applications for the Summer 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. UpTide is an accelerator that gives community-building nonprofits the tools they need to reach the next level of impact.

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.

8. Social Justice Partners Los Angeles Systems Change Fellowship brings together nonprofit leaders who have lived experience of the issues they're addressing.

Events and Discounts🎟️

Gemini Advanced is now free for college students until the end of the 2026 finals season sign up by June 30th to get the Google One AI Premium plan, which includes Gemini’s deep research tools, instant video generation with Veo 2, smart support in Gmail, Docs, Slides, and Sheets, plus 2TB of storage to power your studies, creativity, and career prep.

Roadmap to Billions is an award-winning, immersive tech conference built by Black women tech entrepreneurs, for Black women tech entrepreneurs. Over the past eight years, it has empowered thousands of innovators with education, inspiration, and access, sparking critical conversations between founders and funders, and helping over 25 entrepreneurs secure nearly $30M in venture capital funding.

Join our very own chief exec, Kunbi Tinuoye, as she takes the stage to speak at this powerful two-day event featuring workshops, masterclasses, and AI training, all designed to deliver actionable business guidance from top tech entrepreneurs and industry experts.

Register and save 20% with code RTBSPEAKER20 at lu.ma/rtb2025

Date: May 15-16, 2025

Location: New York

Unite with thousands of like-minded individuals at the largest global conference for women in tech. Connect and share your goals, challenges, and values with others who understand your journey! Invest in yourself as a tech pioneer and stay ahead, excelling in your organization, team, and personal life.

The Women in Tech Global Conference provides multiple opportunities to learn, experience, network, and be inspired, enabling you to amplify your personal brand and thrive in your tech career. 

Date: May 20 - 22, 2025

Location: Virtual

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.

Enjoy our newsletter? Share it with your network and sign up here to stay informed about the latest in tech, business, and innovation. 

If you're interested in sponsoring our newsletter, drop us a line at [email protected] with ‘Geekz Insider’ in the subject box. Until next time, keep hustling and making those geeky dreams come true!

Written by Stephen Oluwadara and produced by Gugu Nxumalo