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Intelligent Safety Platform RapidSOS Raises $75 million in funding

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Fund, money cash dollar

RapidSOS emergency response data platform that securely links data to 9-1-1 and first responders, have raised $75 million in funds, which brings the startup’s total capital raised to over $250M.

The investment round was led by security and safety specialist VC NightDragon, with participation also from BAM Elevate, Insight Partners, Honeywell, Microsoft’s Venture Fund M12, Axon, Citi via the Citi Impact Fund, Highland Capital Partners, Playground Global, Forte Ventures, C5 Capital, and Avanta Venture.

The startup which currently has a capital injection of $250 million, disclosed that it plans to expand its technology and overall business.

The funding comes as RapidSOS has supported the greatest volume of emergencies in its ten-year history, with aging populations, increasing crime, severe weather, and the ongoing implications of the global pandemic. In 2022 year-to-date, the startup has supported first responders in managing over 130 million emergencies.

RapidSOS lead investor in the latest funding round, Director of Night Dragon through its Managing director Dave DeWalt disclosed that the company had to invest in the safety startup to help accelerate its mission.

In his words, “The RapidSOS team has worked diligently for more than a decade on its vision and technology platform to better enable public safety officials and technology companies to respond to emergencies of all types.

“The time for digital transformation in this sector has never been more important and NightDragon is proud to help accelerate this mission as an investor and help RapidSOS continue to change the world and save lives.”

Also Speaking on the company’s goal and its partners, Founder and CEO of RapidSOS Michael Martin said, “For a decade, we’ve had the privilege to learn from our nation’s first responders to build technology that supports their life-saving work.

“Hundreds of millions of lives are impacted each year by the heroism of these individuals, and we’re honored to have partners in this journey that share in a vision to transform safety, security, and emergency response.”

Founded in2012, RapidSOS intelligent safety platform has continued to offer leading technology, insurance, and healthcare companies a turn-key API for adding 24/7 professional monitoring, voice, and data emergency response services.

With a few lines of code, its partners are able to integrate enhanced verification and high-touch monitoring backed by over 15,000 first-responder agencies, enabling faster and smarter responses.

From continuous health monitoring, home security, vehicle crash detection, residential and commercial fire, enterprise security, gunshot detection, personal safety, critical event management, and natural disasters, RapidSOS’ platform enables tech companies to critically assist first responders during an incident.

With RapidSOS, it has transformed the device into a life-saving safety and emergency response service, working seamlessly with thousands of first responder systems to save lives.

Price of Rice Likely to Hit N50,000 as Floods Ravage Farmlands in Nigeria

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Due to the recent flooding that has ravaged some states in the country, Nigerians are advised to brace themselves as a possible surge in the price of rice will likely hit N50,000 before the end of the year.   

The surge in the price of rice will no doubt affect a lot of Nigerians, as the staple crop is heavily consumed by so many households in the country. Traders at various markets have disclosed that suppliers keep adding money, attributing it to the recent flood and hike in transportation prices.

They have therefore urged Nigerians to buy now and stock unless they will have to buy it at an exorbitant amount before the year runs out, as there is a continuous increase in the price.

Currently, reports disclose that a 50kg bag of locally produced parboiled rice sells for an average of N35,000 as against N28,000 which was sold a month ago. A 50kg bag of foreign parboiled rice now sells for N43,000 as against N31,000 a month ago, indicating a 38.7 percent rise in price.

In Nigeria, 33 out of the country’s 36 states have been ravaged by flood, which has caused transportation costs to further surge as tankers conveying petroleum products to the northern states are unable to move as the incidents cut most road networks in the region.

So far, the flood witnessed in the country has crippled so many businesses as experts have estimated that over 70,566 hectares of farmlands and 44,249 houses have been damaged. Also, over 1.4 million Nigerians have been displaced, with about 600 persons reportedly dead.

It might interest you to know that one of Nigeria’s largest farmland of 10,000 hectares located in Nasarawa owned by Olam, which is worth about $140 million has been submerged by floods. Also, thousands of hectares of rice farms in Kano, Jigawa, Taraba, Benue, Niger, Kogi, and Kebbi, among other states, have reportedly been washed away.

There is currently a rising fear among stakeholders in the rice value chain, stating that the recent flooding ravaging farmlands will wreak havoc on rice farms in rice-producing areas which will take a heavy toll on harvest. The average Nigerian also fears that rice, the most consumed food in the country, may surge during the festive season which will lead to increased spending during the period.

The recent flooding in many parts of the country is expected to worsen which has continued to lead to inflation in prices of food and commodities in the country.

The National Bureau of Statistics disclosed that food inflation accelerated in September for the seventh straight month to 23.34 percent, caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, food products, potatoes, yam, and other tubers, as well as oil and fats.

Kanye West (Ye) Must Win Over His Success

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Only a man who has reached the topmost mountain will appreciate the deepest of valleys. Most times, I am flummoxed and flabbergasted when “success” deprives us of the real success in life. Civility, decency and honour make us better people; power, influence and money are additional . Never allow the size of your bank cheque or the digits in your bank wallet or anything you have acquired to define or redefine your person.

One of the biggest fights in life is winning the outcome of any relative success! Kanye West (yes, Ye) must win over his success and return back to his beginning which made him great: good entertainment, making people happy via music. At the moment, his success is winning over Ye. He must reverse that and be the boss.

Yes, you can rule your world and still show civility. I wish him good luck and do hope that people will help him.

German sportswear brand Adidas has terminated its contract with Kanye West, after the rapper made “unacceptable, hateful and dangerous” antisemitic comments, the company said in a statement. Adidas had been under pressure for several weeks to cut ties with West over offensive comments he made on an Oct.16 podcast and in other public forums. The company announced Tuesday it would no longer be working with West, terminating production of its Yeezy-branded products, and stopping the Adidas Yeezy business “with immediate effect,” following moves by other companies to cease working with West. (LinkedIn News)

Comment on Feed

Comment: Why discountenance the fact that he’s bipolar? Not making excuses, but when someone is mentally sick we shouldn’t judge his actions strictly when he may have altered brain structure and chemistry. The fact that his bipolar disorder doesn’t exactly manifest in suicidal thoughts and other more dangerous traits doesn’t mean we should take it lightly. If anything we should encourage him to get help and cry out against how the media is using him and taking advantage of his illness for clicks. They’re destroying him. This is not entirely his fault. Let’s show compassion and treat issues wholistically.

My Response: “This is not entirely his fault.” – This is a lame excuse. Every person in this world can have an excuse for anything. “Sir, I failed the exam because I could not sit for 10 mins and study. I have a medical disease called restless syndrome”. Would you pass him? Ye can afford to hire an assistant who can vet anything he posts before they go live. Just like athletes who hire “nutritionists” to make sure that cookies or drinks do not have a banned sustenance that will destroy their careers, Kanye West can afford any care or modulation.

[…]

“Bipolar is a very serious mental illness” – why not recommend for him to be under care? I understand that in Nigeria, people like to give excuses. I know people who do not give LIVE interviews or post things online until someone has checked those things. They are rich people who cannot control their emotions. But they pay to be managed.  Personal responsibility is accepting and managing your limitations. For a billionaire, he can ask the world to speak via his lawyers who will filter him! Why must he be giving live interviews to insult people when he cannot control what he says?

Major Crypto Misconceptions You Should Not Believe

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Cryptocurrency is a digital currency or an exchange medium that uses cryptographic protocols to guarantee transactions’ safety and authenticity.

However, the introduction of cryptocurrencies has rocked different parts of the world. Amidst their popularity, most individuals have no idea how cryptocurrency exchanges work and find them perplexing.

As a result, much misinformation has spread. It is critical to distinguish between facts and fiction. If you’ve been planning to invest in cryptos, you should first conduct research.

Here are some of the most common cryptocurrency misconceptions that you should not believe.

Misconceptions About Cryptocurrency

1. Cryptocurrency exchanges are fraudulent.

A major common misconception is that crypto represents nothing more than a total sham.

When one investor seeks a legal way to earn money, someone else is seeking a means to defraud others.

But when it comes to crypto investing, investors tend to be conservative and overthink every choice.

Even so, scammers have developed schemes to defraud you of your cryptocurrency or money.

For instance, there have been numerous initial coin offerings (ICOs) that have turned into fraudulent scams.

In other crypto exchange scams, someone may try to convince you to accept unauthenticated transactions or contact you trying to pretend to be a member of the government and opt to pay your debt payments in cryptos.

Cryptocurrency exchanges are nearly impossible to scam because the authorities have not outlawed them.

You can make investments in digital currencies as long as you manage your risk effectively and take precautions.

2. Cryptocurrency is prohibited.

One of the oldest and most widespread misconceptions about cryptocurrencies is that they are primarily used for illegal purposes.

According to Chainalysis, only 0.34 per cent of cryptocurrency transactions in 2020 were illegal. That is lower than the traditional banking industry.

Many investors now view cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and others as a hedge against inflation, and they use virtual currencies to increase revenues.

Although cryptocurrency has been banned in countries such as Ecuador, Trinidad, Russia, Algeria, and Bolivia, the United States, EU, and G7 have made cryptocurrencies legal currency.

So, believing that cryptocurrency is illegal is one of the crypto misconceptions that is completely untrue.

3. It is easy to hack cryptocurrency.

Among the most popular misconceptions of them all. Like with most things in this world, there are safe and unsafe ways to handle cryptos.

It all boils down to the decisions you make. Investing in cryptocurrency is similar to other types of trading.

Increasing the security of wallets in which cryptocurrency trading is possible is the only method that will protect your wallet and improve safe transactions. Other hacks can be avoided by using a secure browser for transactions.

Choose A Highly Secure Crypto Exchange

Hacks are quite alarming in the crypto space, given how some well-established crypto exchanges and platforms became a target of cybercriminals.

To ensure you are safe from these fraudulent activities, you must choose a highly secure crypto platform like Bitcoin Up. A lot of good reviews were given by the users who are truly impressed by the platform’s security and other features.

[Source: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-woman-making-a-business-presentation-7172791/]

4. Cryptocurrency is a temporary thing.

The online world, computers, and email were once thought to be only of interest to a small group of tech enthusiasts; they are now commonplace in modern personal and professional lives.

It’s difficult to determine which cryptocurrency there will be in the next few years; besides that, the technology they pioneered and the services they stimulated will almost certainly continue to evolve and improve.

Several businesses are heavily investing in altcoins, and authorities are exploring methods for introducing officially recognised crypto assets tied to a more stable investment.

Also, consumers and investment companies are becoming incredibly interested in decentralised finance applications.

Thus, the real and digital worlds are increasingly blending, and crypto coins are likely to play a role in this.

5. Crypto is affecting the environment.

Since cryptocurrency is one of the most energy-intensive cryptos due to its reliance on a verification procedure, numerous new and current projects are now shifting to a proof-of-stake framework, which is more environmentally friendly and provides the very same degree of security.

Mining operations, on the other hand, have fewer environmental impacts if they are powered primarily by renewable energy.

Bottom Line

You should now have a good understanding of the misconceptions and reasons why they are falsifiable. It’s advisable to seek expert advice before making any investment decision.

Consult with a professional and seek advice from reliable sources. Aside from the points that we’ve discussed, keep in mind that there are various other misconceptions out there.

Before accepting any information, remarks, or misconceptions as true, you should properly examine them.

Tekedia Live w/ Ndubuisi Ekekwe: Saturdays , 7-8.30pm WAT

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Join us at Tekedia Mini-MBA or any Tekedia Institute program (excluding advanced diploma programs), and have access to Tekedia Live. Every Saturday at 7-8.30pm WAT, I anchor an amazing business show.  I just made public last week’s program titled “Protecting and Growing Wealth During the Era of Inflation and Currency Deterioration”.

We are revamping operating models in Tekedia Institute and many new products are coming. We want this to become a living school.  We have all our programs here.

This Saturday on the show, the topic is “Investment Options and Models for Early, Mid and Late Careers”.