Kwame Som-Pimpong

  • No. 268 – Notes on Energy, New Cities, and Africa

    George Mitchell and Floyd McKissick – New City Builders One of the books I recently finished reading was The New Map by Daniel Yergin. He does a fantastic job providing the historical context for where we are in the development of various renewable energy sources, where we are geopolitically in the competition for energy dominance,…

  • No. 267 – Let’s Trade Keys

    I couldn’t quite put the words together for a longer piece on this, but I think there’s significance to last Monday, May 25 being Memorial Day and Africa Day.  Memorial Day On May 1, 1865, formerly enslaved folks in Charleston, SC gave a proper burial to well over 200 Union soldiers who died as prisoners…

  • No. 266 – The Welfare of the City

    I’ve been struggling to write this month, particularly this week. Figured I’d share my scripture reflection from this morning. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. Jeremiah 29:7 It’s hard to…

  • No. 265 – Nigeria’s Debt Situation Doesn’t Feel Good

    Bond Investors Are Rushing to Nigeria – I wrote a bit about Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s 60 Minutes interview earlier this week. Another thing he mentioned in that conversation was that at some point, the US was going to have to deal with the rate at which its debt is growing relative to its…

  • No. 264 – Building a World with a Broader Set of Defaults

    Tristan Walker Wants Black Businessmen to Taste Financial Freedom – This is a great interview with Walker and Company Brands’ CEO. His statement about the power of defaults sat me down.  In my house right now, there are no other products other than Bevel and Form Beauty, which is also one of our brands. I…

  • No. 263 – The Federal Reserve Hasn’t Emptied Its Clip

    Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s 60 Minutes interview on economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell gave an interview on 60 Minutes this past Sunday and the conversation was quite interesting. Early in the conversation, when the question of unemployment came up, Chair Powell talked about how heartbreaking it was and…

  • No. 262 – Building the Future

    Over the past several weeks, Robert Smith, the founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, has been making the media rounds. He’s been talking about his work ensuring that black small business owners get the funding they need in the next round of stimulus Congress passes.  In the first wave of PPP loan funding that…

  • No. 261 – 40% of People Earning Below $40K Lost Jobs

    Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell Remarks on Current Economic Issues – The Federal Reserve chair spoke at an event hosted by the Peterson Institute for International Affairs. Before I get into Jerome Powell’s remarks, it’s worth dwelling a bit on the Peterson Institute. The place is named after Pete G. Petersen, an investor who became…

  • No. 260 – Entering a New World We Have No Idea About

    We Are All Government-Sponsored Enterprises Now – This is interesting analysis by Guggenheim’s Chief Investment Officer Scott Minerd where he basically says that we’re potentially heading to a situation where the government will be beholden to ensuring companies and markets have access to credit because of how it’s navigating this pandemic situation. A lot of companies…

  • No. 259 – On Grief and Connection

    My Grandmama passed on Saturday. I thought I got all my tears out Saturday, but I’ll be grieving and celebrating her until my spirit feels it’s enough. While showering last night, I saw her smiling face and heard her say, “I’m proud of you, son. It’s going to be alright.” There were some extra water…

  • No. 258 – Psalms 137 and Bitcoin

    What constantly comes to mind when I think about Ahmaud Arbery is Psalms 137:4. It’s how I feel right now. By the waters of Babylon,there we sat down and wept,when we remembered Zion.On the willows therewe hung up our lyres.For there our captorsrequired of us songs,and our tormentors, mirth, saying,“Sing us one of the songs…

  • No. 257 – A Return to Normal Post-COVID Does Nothing for Black Folks

    COVID-19 has connected the dots between all the disparities black people face in the U.S. A return to normal for black folks means a return to the conditions that left us vulnerable to death. That would be unacceptable.

  • No. 256 – It Hits Different When the Lion Tells It’s Own Story

    Let Africa into the market for COVID-19 diagnostics – John Nkegasong, the head of Africa CDC, outlined a plan of action here for African countries increase their levels of coordination and production to get the diagnostics they need to the ramp-up testing to 10 million in the next four months. Earlier in the piece, he…

  • No. 255 – Thursday Reads

    Pittsburgh-Based Niche Secures $35M For School Search Platform After 100% ARR Growth In 2019 – niche is a platform that allows parents to search for schools ranging from kindergarten all the way up to college. what concerns me about this platform is just where we’re headed more broadly in education. A tool like this is…

  • No. 254 – Wednesday Reads

    When regulation presents a (rare) opportunity – Bradley Tusk, a political wizard, who secured Uber’s policy wins across the U.S. with masterful and aggressive campaigns has written a piece that’s quite disturbing. He calls for startups to take advantage of what I’ll call “pandemic capture.” Because of the current situation with COVID-19, he argues that…