Forbes - Under 30 Hours To Botswana

Plus: NexHealth Hits $1 Billion Valuation In Bid To Rewire Healthcare Data Flow

Dumela, readers! That means “hello” in Setswana, the language spoken by about half of Botswana’s population. I’m writing this from Washington, D.C, where I’m about to board a flight to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and from there head to Botswana’s capital Gaborone, where we’ll be kicking off the Under 30 Summit Africa. Fittingly, this whole journey takes just under 30 hours.

This is a summit of firsts. It’s our first time bringing an Under 30 event to Botswana—indeed, to the African continent. We’re also devoting a full day of programming to climate and sustainability and hosting an all-night bush party concluding with a 6 a.m. safari (check out the agenda).

We’ll be documenting the event through our @ForbesUnder30 social media channels, and I’ll be sharing my journey on my own @iamsternlicht. Follow along!

This Week's Money Moves

The founders whom Amazon’s $1 billion industrial innovation fund is backing include a serial entrepreneur, a pair of Carnegie Mellon robotics Ph.Ds and the former head of claims at insurance giant AIG.

In influencer news, Rhett and Link are sticking their money behind musical-comedy YouTuber Daniel Thrasher.

Plaid’s billionaire cofounder is back with a new startup: a fintech-friendly bank he and his wife, a former Bain consultant, are running.

Men love Lululemon, and Lululemon is planning to make the most of the momentum.

Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S., has launched its much-awaited marketplace for digital collectibles in beta mode.

Former NBA star Al Harrington is building a $100 million team of Black cannabis entrepreneurs. 

From The Magazine:
5 Under 30 Honorees In Defense
Profiled In 30 Words Or Less

Ian Villa, 29 (pictured)
Cofounder, Whisper Aero
Uber’s former aviation strategy head builds ultraquiet surveillance drones for the Department of Defense. He has $10.5 million in funding from VCs and the Pentagon.

Caleb Carr, 28
Cofounder, Vita Inclinata
Carr raised $24 million to invent nimbler helicopter baskets after a buddy had a search-and-rescue accident and died unreachable. The U.S. Army now uses them for risky evacuations.

Sasha Seymore, 29, and Andrew Powell, 29
Cofounders, Learn to Win
Military edtech backed by $12 million in VC funding. Learn to Win helps sailors better identify corrosion, pilots more accurately locate targets and the U.S. Space Force track the weather.

Hannah Hunt, 29
Chief product and innovation officer, Army Software Factory
Developed seven apps for the Army. Guard makes job boards mobile-friendly for active-duty soldiers; MySquad is Slack for grunts. Hunt oversees 150 staffers; monthly users total 4,000.