Tag: Diversity

Our blood can reveal a physical illness. A hairband may be equally helpful, so too a sympathetic text. And now a Swiss startup has launched an app to support people with chronic illnesses such as asthma, migraines or bipolar disorder. Users respond to 3-5 daily questions, which help record their mood. Next come data from smartphones and wearable devices...

Combining solar modules provides remote communities with electricity. Now, a man from the Democratic Republic of Congo is making internet access affordable for his fellow citizens. His startup, launched in Canada, uses small boxes of computer components to harness satellite signals and establish local wireless networks. The resulting ‘digital library’ in Kinshasa can supply internet for up to 100...

Online platforms help students and people with physical limitations to plan foreign stays. Now a Hamburg-based startup is helping businesses to relocate recently hired international talent to their new place of work. Once an online profile has been created on their platform, step-by-step instructions for employees follow. Tailored to individual destinations, these include advice on documentation required by local...

Mobile solar beds help treat jaundiced babies. Still, in many parts of the world, energy remains in short supply. Now, with his Toronto-based startup, a Black founder is providing Nigerians a low-cost opportunity to rent portable batteries. Charging stations are powered by solar energy. The 200W batteries provide direct and alternating currents to power mobiles, PCs or small fridges,...

Thanks to modern technology, languages, ethnic films and historical discoveries can all be permanently preserved. Now Ukraine’s cultural heritage is under threat. That’s why a Viennese organisation has joined forces with American educational institutions to store at-risk information on a central, secure server. A programme helps find documents, photographs, songs, cutting patterns, and films from Ukraine on local online...

New outfits can be created at home. For new hairstyles we visit a barber. But as two Black alumni from the University of Toronto recently discovered, finding someone we trust to do our hair is easier said than done. Their response: to design an app for beauty salons run by Black people. Anyone looking for a new hairstyle can...

Young people are interested in sustainability and innovation. Some can conjure a smile from unlikely sources. Thanks to two Californian primary school teachers and their students, a new hotline has been providing English- and Spanish-speaking callers with a source of joy since February. Anyone feeling angry, frustrated or nervous can call to receive words of encouragement from kindergarten kids,...

Thanks to apps we can make our lifestyle more sustainable or change our impact on the environment. Now, an Israeli startup is offering businesses a way of taking on social responsibility while fostering team spirit through volunteering opportunities. Registration for the online platform is free to nonprofit organisations. They can post one-off or long-term projects and recruit volunteers to...