As the world continues to struggle with the impact of a pandemic, the tech community has been devising creative strategies to thrive in the economic uncertainty that has ensued.
These strategies, which have churned out incredible results, make for great stories, stories of hope in an uncertain world, and those of unity in a world of natural and artificial divisions.
SV-NED Inc. lives for these stories. They give life to our mission of building connections across different parts of the world for business and other purposes.
This is why we are welcoming a few industry players to tell their stories on our platform.
Keynote Speaker: Arlan Hamilton
Arlan is the first black woman, who is not a celebrity, to grace the cover of Fast Company magazine.
She built her company, Backstage Capital, from scratch when she was homeless. The company facilitates access to investment funds for high-potentials in tech by investing in founders who may find it difficult accessing funds because they are in the minorities.
Within five years, the company raised over $30 million in the capital and funded over 130 new companies.
In 2018, she co-founded Backstage Studio which launched four accelerator programs for underestimated founders in Detroit, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and London.
Arlan’s keynote address will be about her new book “It’s About Damn Time”.
Meet Ruben Harris
Ruben, a member of the Y Combinator class of 2012, is CEO and Co-founder of Career Karma, a start-up which raised Seven Million Dollars in seed round. The company now has over 50,000 techies subscribed to its services.
Ruben is currently raising funds and collecting repurposed electronic devises to prepare and develop America for a new future of work. His go fund me campaign, ‘Reskill America: The Great Rehiring Initiative’, is gathering momentum in Silicon Valley.
Meet Alexandra Rossi
Alexandra is the Chief Officer at Rasgo Intelligence, a stealth ML company that is reinventing the data prep process. Her work centres on developing relationships with the data science community. She also develops the operations and culture of the company in readiness for growth and future investments.
She has, using her marketing strategies, helped many brands to solve problems and expand their business. Among them are Airbnb, FAGE Greek Yogurt, PayPal, Poximo Spirits, and YouTube TV.
She is a member of the Forbes Women Forum.
Meet Emmanuel Yao
Emmanuel is an Associate Director of Production Services at Ubisoft Singapore. With has over 20+ years of software development experience, including more than 15 years in video game development, he has become an international leader and coach.
His work focuses on studio leadership, global game development, operations, content creation, online services and development support roles.
Emmanuel started his journey in software development began at Alcatel Telecoms in Paris, France, from where he moved to Canada to join Ubisoft Montreal. He then transferred to Ubisoft Shanghai, China and later moved to Ubisoft Singapore, where he has been working more than 8 years.
Meet DREMO
DREMO, a Nigerian Musical Artist, is currently signed to Davido Music World. His third album, Codename Vol. 2, was released in April 2020.
Meet Shantelle Williams-Valadié
Shantelle is committed to education, technology, capacity building, and international development. In her capacity as director at Coursera, she facilitates access to quality online education for millions of people worldwide at bargain prices.
Her area of specialization is the identification, negotiation and execution of innovative business opportunities.
Before joining Coursera, she worked with PWC, where she built financial models for key clients investing in renewable energy and other infrastructure across Europe and Africa.
Shantelle’s undergraduate degree is from Stanford University while her Master’s degree is from Sciences Po Paris. A Franco-American with roots in the Caribbean and Nigeria, she speaks fluent Spanish and conversational Italian. When she is not working, she writes and performs music.
Meet Samuel Nwanze
Samuel is the administrative manager of finance and investment at Heirs Holdings. He had earlier worked in the banking industry, playing various roles which include overseeing strategy, financial control, performance management, and treasury.
Samuel has a Master’s degree in Finance and Management from Cranfield School of Management in the United Kingdom.
