Jon Gosier facts for kids

Jonathan D. Gosier (born in 1981 or 1982) is a super creative person who starts and invests in new businesses. He also helps fund movies and gives money to good causes. People have recognized him for his work, like when CNN called him one of the top African tech voices to follow on Twitter. Business Insider also named him one of the most important African-Americans in technology.

Jon Gosier became a TED Fellow in 2009 and later a TED Senior Fellow. He also won an award from the Knight News Challenge for his project, Abayima. This project creates special communication tools for people during emergencies. In 2013, he was nominated as one of the top innovators by Black Enterprise Magazine for his work with a data company called MetaLayer.

What Jon Gosier Does

Jon Gosier is known for starting or helping to start several important companies. These companies focus on technology, helping communities, and even financing movies.

Appfrica: Tech in Uganda

Jon Gosier is the founder and CEO of Appfrica. This is a technology company located in Kampala, Uganda. He started it in 2008. Appfrica has worked on many projects to help grow the technology industry in Africa. For example, they helped Google Africa translate its website for people in Uganda.

Apps4Africa: Solving Problems with Tech

Gosier also helped start Apps4Africa. This program helps new technology ideas in Africa grow. Apps4Africa holds competitions where people can suggest local problems, like needing better health care or more honest government. Then, African tech experts create inventions to solve these problems. The goal is to find "African solutions to African problems." This project started in 2009 with help from Appfrica and the U.S. Department of State.

MetaLayer: Understanding Data

In 2011, Gosier co-founded MetaLayer with Matthew Griffiths. This company wanted to make it easy for anyone to understand large amounts of information, even if they weren't tech experts. Their tools helped people find trends, predict things, and create cool pictures from data. MetaLayer was bought by another company in August 2013.

Audigent: Smart Data for Ads

Gosier co-founded Audigent in 2014. This company helps businesses use their own customer information safely to show better ads online. It does this without needing special internet "cookies" that track you. In November 2024, Audigent was bought by Experian.

Southbox Entertainment: Funding Movies

In 2017, Jon Gosier started Southbox Entertainment. This company helps provide money for people making movies and TV shows. In September 2019, Southbox Entertainment announced its official launch in Atlanta, ready to support filmmakers.

Abayima: Communication in Crises

Abayima is a non-profit organization that Jon Gosier helped create. It supports people when their ability to communicate is threatened. This happens when governments try to block or watch internet and phone services.

Abayima means "Guardian" in the Luganda language. It was inspired by situations in countries like Uganda, Libya, and Syria. In these places, authorities sometimes cut off internet or mobile access. During these "internet black-outs," Abayima provides ways for people and journalists to still talk to each other. In 2011, Gosier and his team tested the project in Uganda. This was when the government started watching text messages, which are a common way for people to communicate during emergencies.

FilmHedge: Movie Money

Gosier is also the CEO and founder of FilmHedge, which started in 2020. This company provides money for the film and television industry. Since it began, FilmHedge has helped fund over 40 movies and TV series, providing more than $200 million in total.

Awards and Recognitions

• 2012 - CNN named him one of the Ten African Tech Voices to Follow on Twitter.
• 2013 - Business Insider listed him as one of the 25 most important African-Americans in Technology.
• 2013 - His mobile app, Abayima, received a $150,000 grant from the Knight News Challenge.
• 2013 - He was nominated as one of three Innovators of the Year by Black Enterprise Magazine for his work with MetaLayer.
• 2015 - TIME magazine included him in their list of ‘12 New Faces of Black Leadership’.