Kwame Som-Pimpong

  • No. 253 – Tuesday Reads

    Low Covid-19 death toll raises hopes Africa may be spared worst – So far, African countries have avoided the devastation the US and Europe have experienced from Covid-19. The nervousness in my chest won’t leave for some time, and I pray that Africa countries continue to navigate this virus as best they can. It’s been…

  • No. 252 – Monday Reads

    COVID-19 Edition: What is venture sentiment today? – First Republic Bank published interesting results from a survey they conducted of 427 venture capital firms. Over the past month or so, there have been a lot of VCs posting on Twitter that they’re open for business. The data here tell a different story. Internet Speech Will…

  • No. 251 – On Legacy

    Protect them from all hurt, harm, and danger. Gertrude Liverman Coming up as a young boy, my Grandmama would end her prayers over me and my younger brother with that line. Gertrude Liverman, my Grandmama is an amazing woman. She came up on the coast of North Carolina, worked picking crops before getting jobs cleaning…

  • No. 250 – Saturday Reads

    When Tailwinds Vanish – This is a very interesting piece by John Luttig. He argues that the opportunities for new internet startups to hit home runs is diminishing as the internet matures. As winning in the internet economy becomes a zero-sum game, he points to incumbents as the ones more likely to win what’s left…

  • No. 249 – Thursday Reads

    State of the Cloud 2020 – Watching the rollout of Zoom at the office was fascinating. One day, I get a an email that we were testing Zoom. A month later, leadership started communicating that they prefer it to Skype. It wasn’t that long ago when someone from the IT team would have to take…

  • No. 248 – Wednesday Reads

    WFP Chief warns of hunger pandemic as COVID-19 spreads – According to the head of the World Food Programme, well over 800 million people around the world are chronically hungry, dealing with starvation. He projects an additional 265 million people will face the same struggle by the end of the year. It’s hard to wrap…

  • No. 247 – Tuesday Reads

    Know Your Price: Black Property Devaluation In A Nation Built With Our Hands And On Our Backs – I recently shared with a friend why I believed diversity and inclusion efforts at corporations were bullshit. I already belong here. I’m not interested in incremental efforts to try and make me more comfortable. I want to…

  • No. 246: Monday Reads

    COVID-19 in Africa: Outcomes and Scenarios – Ronak Gopaldas of Signal Risk put together a nice analysis of the potential economic impact of COVID-19 on African markets. The central conclusion is that the path out of this situation is going to take years, something that is true for countries around the world. It’s frustrating to…

  • No. 245 – Africa Can Build Too

    I was so excited to see the announcement last week that 54gene had raised $15M in additional funding for their work sequencing the genome of African folks. That type of work – building technology, research, and infrastructure is what Africa’s going to need as soon as possible. The wave of nationalism that has continued to…

  • No. 245: On Building

    The past couple weeks, I’ve noticed more voices out of Silicon Valley calling out the need for the U.S. to bring manufacturing back to its shores. I’ve also seen some voices call out concept Silicon Valley getting hooked on globalization and Building Technology that is dependent on a globalized world where everyone has access you…

  • No. 244: Timbaland and Swizz Beatz Should Build a Platform

    The Verzuz battles Timbaland and Swizz Beatz have been organizing on Instagram have been a fresh breath of musical air the past several weeks. They’ve really done something special for the culture. While so many music greats are getting their flowers, I can’t help but remember that these battles are adding to Zuckerberg’s net worth.…

  • No. 243 – Friday Reads

    Ken Ofori-Atta: ‘What does an African finance minister do now?’ – A sobering diary entry by Ghana’s finance minister. In the entry, he lists the various calls he made that particular day. I couldn’t help but notice none were to titans of industry inside Ghana. Not sure what that means, but it doesn’t feel good.…

  • No. 242 – Thursday Reads

    The Great Lockdown: Worst Economic Downturn Since the Great Depression – “For the first time since the Great Depression both advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies are in recession.” Stacey Abrams on Voting Rights, COVID-19, and Being Vice President – “I feel beautiful when young black girls come up to me. They are…

  • No. 241 – Wednesday Reads

    For Black America, COVID-19 Is The Bullet. America Is The Gun – “This is how the coronavirus kills Black people. This is how half of the related deaths in Mississippi are Black. This is how 70 percent of the deaths in Louisiana are Black. Sixty-two percent in D.C. And so on. And so on. Not by Black…

  • No. 240 – Tuesday Reads

    Some Policy Lessons from COVID-19 “It is about time that African progressivism focused not just on criticizing those in power, but also on developing viable political programs that can win power. This will require organization, political education and communication that resonates with mass publics, genuine openness to knowing “the realities on the ground”, and a…