Author: Ewang Johnson
New BCG and QED report reveals the fintech industry’s strongest fundamentals to date—poised for its next wave of disruption through breakthrough technologies, disciplined growth, and new market penetration Global fintech is entering a new era of maturity and momentum. According to a new report from Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and QED Investors, Fintech’s Next Chapter: Scaled Winners and Emerging Disruptors, the sector has emerged from a tough funding environment stronger, more disciplined, and with greater growth prospects than ever. In 2024, fintech revenues grew by 21%—up from 13% in 2023—marking a threefold acceleration over the financial services industry at large. Meanwhile, the average EBITDA…
Whereas Madonna’s overt sexuality felt radical, Carpenter’s has a more tongue-in-cheek feel – to the point where some have questioned whether it’s a marketing ploy. Criticism intensified in June when she unveiled the cover for Man’s Best Friend, featuring the singer on her knees as a man grabs her hair. It drew ire from several quarters – some feminists, women’s charities and fans thought it was degrading to women. Conservatives thought it was overtly sexual. Others defended the singer, calling the reaction puritanical and suggesting the image was satire. Carpenter later revealed an alternative “approved by God” cover – and…
Across much of Africa, women continue to face significant barriers in accessing the rights, opportunities, and markets available to men. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the gender gap in sub-Saharan Africa remains at 32% across four critical dimensions: political participation, economic opportunity, education, and health. At the current pace of progress, the IFC has warned, it will take an estimated 95 years for the continent to achieve gender parity. “Insurance isn’t just about covering losses, it’s a powerful tool for empowerment,” says Molebatsi Langa, Head Retail Strategic Accounts at Old Mutual Insure. “Women often balance a range of…
Raising awareness about the fragility of our oceans, our land and our Indigenous heritage is the challenge facing a new generation of couturiers. For autumn-winter 2025/26, Iris van Herpen has created a living dress, Imane Ayissi wants the Earth to regenerate naturally, Grace Lillian Lee is celebrating her Australian ancestors and Stéphane Rolland has opened up a dialogue with music. As for Clara Daguin, her motto is: if you want to save others, first save yourself. Source link
Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Mary Shelley’s classic novel features the “ridiculously good-looking” Jacob Elordi as the monster – which results in a muddled film.Guillermo del Toro has been obsessed by Frankenstein for decades. He has talked in countless interviews about wanting to adapt Mary Shelley’s 1818 novel, and his last film, Pinocchio (2022), borrowed so much from it that it was almost an unofficial adaptation. But now at last he has made an official one, and so, understandably, he hasn’t held back. His Frankenstein, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday, is a no-expense-spared passion project, an…
The Nature, Environment and Wildlife Filmmakers (NEWF) is proud to announce that two NEWF-supported films, ‘Wild Hope: Pangolin Protectors’ and ‘O mar para Analine (Sea to Analine)’, both set against a Mozambican backdrop, have been named as finalists at the prestigious 2025 Jackson Wild Media Awards. These awards are aimed at celebrating excellence and innovation in nature, science and conservation storytelling. “This recognition is not only a celebration of the filmmakers’ craft, it is a call to the global storytelling community to listen more closely to voices from Africa and the global south, to shift the lens through which conservation…
In this episode of arts24, Eve Jackson sits down with Scandar Copti – a Palestinian filmmaker, Israeli citizen and one of the most original cinematic voices working today. His new film, “Happy Holidays”, is set in the northern city of Haifa and unfolds in four interwoven chapters, following the intersecting lives of Palestinian Christians and Jewish Israelis. As these characters navigate love, gender roles and the invisible weight of politics, the film reveals a society shaped as much by silence as by conflict. Source link
The megastar plays a philosophy professor shaken by a student’s sexual assault allegation against a colleague in Luca Guadagnino’s new film – and she’s easily the best thing about it.Julia Roberts doesn’t make many films these days. She was in Leave the World Behind in 2023; in 2022, there was her tropical romantic comedy with George Clooney, Ticket to Paradise; and then we have to jump all the way back to 2018 for her previous turn in Ben Is Back. But you can see why she chose to star in After the Hunt, a contentious campus drama directed by Luca…
Now, more than ever, it is time to turn the tide and build a future where every young South African could thrive. The global community celebrated International Youth Day, as South Africa’s youth unemployment rate continues to soar over 45%; more than double that of Brazil (20%), India (17%), and Indonesia (16%). According to Nkosinathi Mahlangu, Head: Youth Employment Portfolio at Momentum Group, this stark disparity underscores the serious and unique challenges facing South African youth, compared to their peers in other major developing economies. He said: “South Africa’s youth are at a crossroads. Without urgent and coordinated action from…
Note: This contains spoilers for Squid Game‘s final season.As Squid Game’s third season wraps up with a finale titled “Humans are…,” we are left pondering how to complete that phrase. Looking back over three seasons of primary-colored sets splattered with gore, that open statement is also an open question to the audience.Squid Game is the sort of show you can’t be too enthusiastic about enjoying. At its core, the spectacle is gladiatorial; it’s bloodsports, the sort of thing a modern audience can watch with good conscience only because it’s fictional. 456 desperate and indebted people are scooped off South Korean…