Jon Gosier

Jonathan D. "Jon" Gosier (born 1981 or 1982)[1] is a software developer, investor, and philanthropist.[2] He was named as one of Ten African Tech Voices to Follow on Twitter by CNN [3] and one of the 25 most influential African-Americans in Technology by Business Insider.[4] He was awarded a TED Fellowship in 2009 and later named a TED Senior Fellow.[5][6] Jon is Knight News Challenge award winner for Abayima which makes crisis communications technology for disasters.[7] In 2013 Gosier was nominated as one of three Innovators of the Year by Black Enterprise Magazine for his work with data startup MetaLayer.[8]

Jon Gosier
Born
Jonathan D. Gosier

1981 or 1982 (age 41–42)[1]
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Software Developer, Philanthropist
Known forUshahidi, Appfrica, Apps4Africa
Websitegosier.org

Ushahidi

From 2009 to 2011 Jon Gosier was the Director of SwiftRiver at Ushahidi.[9][10][11][12] Jon later went on to found big data startup MetaLayer.[13]

Appfrica

Jon is currently the founder and CEO of Appfrica. Appfrica (sometimes referred to as Appfrica Labs) is a technology firm founded by current CEO Jon Gosier[14] in 2008 in Kampala, Uganda.[15] The firm has been responsible for a number of technology initiatives responsible for promoting Africa's technology sector including Apps4Africa,[16] HiveColab, QuestionBox[17] and for helping Google Africa translate its page for Ugandan audiences.[18]

Apps4Africa

Jon was one of the founders of Apps4Africa, an accelerator for African technology initiatives. Apps4Africa began with a series of Challenges whose sponsors include Appfrica and the U.S. Department of State. The goal of Apps4Africa is to promote 'African solutions to African problems' by rewarding African technologists seeking to impact society with their inventions.[19] The competition asks civil society and citizens throughout the continent to submit local community challenges on issues like transparency and better governance, health, education and more. The project began in late 2009 with a partnership formed between Appfrica and the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of African Affairs, Office of Public Diplomacy (AF/PDPA) as part of President Barack Obama's administration's 21st Century Statecraft initiative.[20]

Southbox Entertainment

Jon Gosier founded Southbox Entertainment in 2017. In September 2019, Southbox Entertainment announced its launch in Atlanta, to serve as a source of capital for filmmakers and TV producers.[21]

References
  1. Joyner, April (March 15, 2015). "Jon Gosier: Spreading the angel investing wealth". USA Today. Gosier, 33
  2. Sutter, John D. (January 31, 2013). "The cell phone revolutionary". CNN.com. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  3. Busari, Stephanie. "Ten African Tech Voices to Follow on Twitter". CNN.com.
  4. Dickey, Megan Rose (April 4, 2013). "The 25 Most Influential African-Americans In Technology". Business Insider.
  5. "2010 TED Senior Fellows". TED.com.
  6. "TED Stories for Jon Gosier". TED.com. 7 October 2014.
  7. "For content distribution and publishing via SIM cards for sharing information in technologically-limited or high-risk situations". KnightFoundation.org. March 21, 2013.
  8. Brown, Carolyn (July 27, 2015). "Entrepreneurs Conference: Celebrating Small Businesses Revved Up for Growth". BlackEnterprise. Retrieved October 14, 2013.
  9. Hersman, Erik (December 14, 2009). "Jon Gosier joins the Swift River Initiative". Ushahidi.com.
  10. "Q&A: Jon Gosier on crowdsourcing and the 'Silicon Valley of Africa'". Memeburn.com. 28 April 2011.
  11. Watters, Audrey (January 3, 2011). "Crisis-Mapping Platform Ushahidi Announces Crowdmap:CI, 'Check-ins With a Purpose'". readwrite.com.
  12. Kirwan, Peter (September 7, 2010). "SwiftRiver: Tagging a crisis". Wired. Archived from the original on October 15, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2013.
  13. "Moving on from SwiftRiver and Ushahidi". Gosdot.com. Archived from the original on 2013-09-26. Retrieved 2013-10-14.
  14. "An Interview with Appfrica Founder Jon Gosier". WhiteAfrican.com.
  15. Brennan, Andrew (September 24, 2013). "Uniting a diaspora is, by its very nature, a big challenge". TheLinkNewspaper.ca.
  16. "Creators of "Apps 4 Africa" Contest Discuss the Ideas Behind It". USembassy.gov. July 16, 2010.
  17. "Fellows Friday with Rose Shuman". TED.com. June 3, 2011.
  18. Akinyemi, Tayo (August 18, 2009). "Bridging the Communication Gap in Uganda: Appfrica Labs". NextBillion.net.
  19. Dowd, Katie (July 1, 2010). "Announcing 'Apps 4 Africa'". blogs.state.gov. Archived from the original on March 3, 2013.
  20. "Africa: 'The United States – Africa Partnership – the Last Four Years and Beyond' – Assistant Secretary Carson". AllAfrica. January 16, 2013.
  21. "Atlanta-Based Investor Brings Film Finance Down South". www.prnewswire.com. 2019-09-12. Retrieved 2020-06-01.
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