Rihanna now stands as the first Black woman to build two independent billion-dollar companies. 

This marks an extraordinary entrepreneurial milestone, reshaping the global commerce landscape. Her achievements signal the rise of founder-led brands that merge influence, innovation, and global consumer impact.

Top Stories 📰

Story 1: Rihanna makes history with a dual billion-dollar empire

Story 2: Unconventional Ventures has announced a €50 million ($58 million) first close of its second fund

Story 3: UrbanGeekz CEO Kunbi Tinuoye joined the speakers lineup at Africa Tech Festival 2025 in Cape Town

Become an UrbanGeekz Ambassador!

UrbanGeekz is on a mission to amplify tech, startups, and culture. We’re looking for bold, visionary individuals to join our inaugural UrbanGeekz Ambassador Program.

As an ambassador, you’ll create content, share authentic stories, and be our voice in global innovation. In return, you'll get to be part of a vibrant tech/entrepreneurial community. We also have some exclusive tech products up for grabs. Interested?

Apply here

Hot News 🔥

1. Gates Foundation commits $1.4 billion to climate-smart agriculture in Africa

2. Tyler Perry donates $1.4 million to support families who rely on SNAP

3. Ventures Platform raises $64 million, nears $75 million Fund II Close

4. Money-saving health hacks you can start today

5. These 5 habits will help you achieve financial independence.

6. Pharrell Williams’ Black Ambition Showcases 2025 Prize Winners at Demo Day

Opportunities - Accelerators/Funding, Events.

Grants💰

• Up to $65 million | Get up to £50 million in 2026 Endowments Investing Challenge funding for social and environmental impact projects in the UK.

  📅 Apply by Dec. 19, 2025

• Up to $325k | 2026 Gusto Impact Awards is offering about $325k in prizes for small businesses breaking barriers across the United States. 📅 Apply by Nov 21, 2025

• $150K Investment | The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation aims to identify social entrepreneurs with dynamic ideas and nurture them in their early stages with maximum leverage and total commitment. 🗓️ Application on a rolling basis:

• $155K | The Da Vinci Fellowship offers an equity-free grant of €150 000 per fellow to young, contrarian Europeans.🗓️ Application on a rolling basis

• $100K | The Thiel Fellowship is a two-year program for young people who want to build new things. Fellows receive a $100,000 grant and support from the Thiel Foundation’s network of founders, investors, and scientists.🗓️ Application on a rolling basis:

• Up to $26.5K | Braze, in partnership with BET Plus and Coursera, are offering 10 founders across APAC, EMEA, and NA 12 months of FREE access to Braze, a $26,500 product grant and many more.📅 Apply by Jan. 16, 2026

• 💰 $20K | The Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp Small Business Hero Program awards grants to U.S. small businesses with owners aged 18 or older that show courage, perseverance, and integrity. 📅 Apply by November 14, 2025

• 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:

• 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:

• Up to $26.5K | Braze, in partnership with BET Plus and Coursera, are offering 10 founders across APAC, EMEA, and NA 12 months of FREE access to Braze, a $26,500 product grant and many more. 📅 Apply by Jan. 16, 2026

Accelerators 💼

1. Y Combinator is accepting applications for the Winter 2026 Batch funding cycle, which will occur 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. 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.

5. Peachscore + Dealum hosts 12 cohorts annually, offering startup founders the flexibility to join immediately upon acceptance and receive up to $150k, regardless of when they apply.

6. The two-year Activate Fellowship provides early-stage science entrepreneurs with funding, technical resources, and unparalleled support from a network of scientists, engineers, investors, commercial partners, and fellow entrepreneurs. 

7. Forum Ventures' accelerator helps SaaS and AI startups grow with pre-seed funding, mentorship, and expert guidance. 

Events🎟️

This workshop serves as a successor workshop to the ones held in Singapore, the San Francisco Bay Area, Vienna, New Orleans, and San Francisco.

Bringing together global leaders in academia and industry, our goal is to deepen the collective understanding of the potential risks from Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) and collaboratively explore effective strategies for mitigating these risks. Apply here 

Date: 1 -2 December 2025

Location: San Diego, USA

The Thirty-Ninth Annual Conference on Neural Information Processing Systems (NeurIPS 2025) will convene researchers, practitioners, and industry professionals to discuss advancements in machine learning, artificial intelligence, and computational neuroscience.

Date: Dec. 2-7, 2025

Location: San Diego Convention Center.

Thank you for joining us in this edition of Geekz Insider. We hope that our shared stories and opportunities will ignite your career goals and entrepreneurial spirit, fueling 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.  Until next time, keep hustling and making those geeky dreams come true!

If you're interested in sponsoring our newsletter, drop us a line at [email protected] with ‘Geekz Insider’ in the subject box!

Written by Stephen Oluwadara and produced by Gugu Nxumalo