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At-home algae for green-fingered families

BioBombola by ecoLogicStudio, London

London – BioBombola by ecoLogicStudio is an eco-driven household kit that invites individuals, families and communities to cultivate their own algae garden.

Designed to bring nature and wellbeing into the home, BioBombola allows households to grow and harvest their own spirulina. Each kit includes a one-metre tall lab grade glass container filled with 15 litres of living photosynthetic spirulina. Its air piping system and small air pump keep the algae afloat while pumping fresh oxygen into the surrounding environment. Both sustainable and effective, the algae output also delivers edible vegetable protein.

‘We believe that this product will [help to] redesign some of the logic that led us to the current health crisis,' explain Claudia Pasquero and Marco Poletto, founders of ecoLogicStudio. 'If we, collectively, transform air pollutants into highly nutritious aliments there will be fewer opportunities for viruses to exploit unsustainable food supply chains and for polluted atmospheres to reach and attach to us.’

The benefits of algae are increasingly apparent – not only for interior and urban air cleaning but also as an edible source of nutrients.

Vinovest taps affluent Millennials with investment wines

Vinovest, US

US – The new platform guides users through investing in managed portfolios of investment-grade fine wines.

Vinovest is aiming to make 'alternative assets' such as fine wine more appealing to a younger affluent audience by dusting the cobwebs off what is seen as a traditional and often un-transparent type of investment.

Via its Millennial-friendly site, it provides clients with a hands-free approach to wine investment. Open to those investing upwards of £804 ($1,000, €891), its infrastructure means investors don’t have to store the wine themselves while insurance, commissions and authentication are also covered.

‘We realised that despite its lucrative returns, there were still many barriers to entry preventing this asset class from becoming more accessible to mainstream investors. We want to allow more people to participate in the upside of wine investing, so Vinovest was born,' says Anthony Zhang, its founder.

With Millennials taking an increased interest in their finances, they are looking for ways to invest their money in physical items over digital assets.

Drive-in cinemas gain traction in West Africa

Nigeria – Filmmaker Charles Okpaleke has launched a series of drive-in cinemas in the cities of Lagos and Abuja.

With Covid-19 posing a threat to cinemas around the world, drive-in alternatives are becoming an appealing option for experience hungry yet health-conscious citizens.

As part of the launch in Abuja’s Transcorp Hilton car park, Okpaleke’s Living in Bondage film will be screened alongside a live performance from r'n'b group Styl-Plus and DJs sets.

Drive-in cinemas have been experiencing a rise in interest in recent years, with individuals, brands and organisations recognising their multiple use cases.

Outside of film screenings, the drive-in model has also been used for events like church services and concerts – a trend anticipated to gain further traction as some countries move into the inter-Covid period.

While the pandemic has has sparked an increase in streaming services at home, drive-ins show there is still consumer interest in Off-demand Entertainment and the appeal of viewing content at scheduled times for a shared experience.

Living in Bondage by Charles Okapaleke @charlesofplay, Lagos & Abuja

Stat: Instagram accelerates as a global news source

Working From Home Fits by wfhfits, Instagram

The 2020 Digital News Report from The Reuters Institute and University of Oxford reveals fresh insight into how global citizens are sourcing and interacting with news.

Taking a global focus, the report shows that – across all age groups – the use of Instagram for news has doubled since 2018 and looks likely to overtake Twitter over the next year.

Gen Z in particular are more than twice as likely to access news via social media than other generations. Instagram, along with Snapchat, has been particularly popular for people accessing news relating to Covid-19. Almost half of the study's 18–24 respondents in Argentina (49%) used Instagram for Covid-19 insights, compared to 38% in Germany. One in ten (11%) Gen Z respondents in the US accessed Covid-19 news via TikTok, and 9% in Argentina.

While we identified the often toxic nature of Instagram Flop accounts as news sources in 2019, Instagram’s potential to become a reputable news platform is set to grow as people look to stay up-to-date within the platforms they're already spending time.