Even after the infamous breakup with Bill Gates, Melinda Gates has remained remarkably true to her philanthropist calling. She recently pumped $57 million into the Female Founders Fund. She remains the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Melinda made this contribution through her company, known as Pivotal Ventures. The money will offer seed funding for lifestyle and early-stage tech companies run by women. "I strongly believe we're missing out on valuable transformational ideas; we're doing this by not putting enough resources behind women," Melinda said. Significantly, this is Melinda Gates' second investment in the enterprise Female Founders Fund (FFF). The fund has collectively raised $95 million over three different funds. In 2016 Melinda also invested $25 million through her Pivotal Ventures company.

Other new investors in the fund include Susan Wojcicki, YouTube CEO, Sima Sistani, co-founder and CEO of the social network Houseparty, and Anne Wojcicki, co-founder, and CEO of 23andMe. The Female Founders Fund was first instituted in 2014. The company was launched with a $6 million fund. It sought to invest in various women-founded businesses that did not have the support of traditional venture capitalists. For the past 7 years, much funding for such female founders has been realized. Despite this, women-only funding teams merely received 2.2% of the total US venture capital money in the year 2020.

As noted, since the shocking May 2021 announcement that Bill and Melinda Gates were divorcing, Ms. Melinda French Gates also decided to continue her work as an investor and philanthropist who seeks to address gender inequality. The philanthropist's latest endeavors aim at supporting a new fund that the Female Founders venture firm has fronted. The company aims to build a bright future for women operating in the tech field. Working through the Pivotal Ventures, Melinda Gates offered to be among several limited partners who sought to raise the $57 million to aid various enterprises.

The entrepreneur Annu Duggal primarily seeks to support women-led businesses that drive change for the future. Dugan first started her own e-commerce company in India. She soon realized it was pretty challenging for women to wade through the venture capital world, dominated mainly by white males. Duggal exclusively raised $20 million for her own tech startup through Accel Partners and the VC firms, Tiget Capital. She then founded the FFF to address the VC gender disparity. According to Crunchbase, in 2020, many women-led startups only received 2.3% of VC Funding. But the pandemic has worsened the situation; it disproportionately affected most women-led companies, Crunchbase says.

Ms. Duggal recently told Forbes: "In terms of establishing a fund that primarily focuses on this demographic, there's a huge white space." In the past 8 years, FFF has supported over 50 female-led companies. This includes Maven Clinic, a virtual health startup, Tala, a fintech company, and Zola.com, a bridal company. The FFF organization has also established a network incorporating more than 50,000 investors and female founders who provide various portfolio companies with crucial expertise on modern business strategies.

According to FFF sources, the $57 million Fund II that Melinda Gates recently announced takes pride of place as the largest seed fund for female enterprises. Ms. Duggal seeks to invest in economic sectors that have grown significantly during the pandemic. As noted, some of these include workplace efficiency tools and digital health startups. Ms. Duggal adds: "The other two areas that greatly excite us include better online experiences, education, and businesses that target climate issues." In a statement coming shortly after the news broke out, Ms. Gates said: "I decided to invest in the Women Founders Fund simply because we need to have women founders and funders strategically positioned right at the high table. We have to do this if we really want to build a prosperous and inclusive economy that ropes in everyone. We know we can have new, innovative ideas from practically everywhere. Certainly, we can't keep relying on the same packages used year in, year out.

Ms. Duggal adds: "Melinda has incredibly supported us. She's been incredibly supportive and vocal, trying her best to move the needle to ensure we achieve true gender equality in the tech field. We happened to be among her earliest investments at Pivotal, a company that was specifically formed to address the existing gaps in the marketplace. Melinda has been really excited about the values we're committed to building. We're are similarly excited that she has committed to supporting us in the Fund III stage."

It's been so long for everyone with COVID19, yawn and the travel restrictions have been sooo annoying OMG. You need to get out and go on a nice holiday asap. Regardless of the multiple times you have travelled before, packing your clothes may be overwhelming at times. Do you always find packing a problem with you? Here's what you can practice for a successful journey:

One of the most important things that determine what you pack when travelling is the packing space. It can always sound ridiculous for you to carry clothes that cannot fit in the proposed travelling bag. Getting one big bag that can carry all your items is more helpful than having more bags, thus a lot of luggage to handle. You can also get a bag that has different spaces in the pocket for everything you need to carry. Adopt good clothes folding technique to ensure that you do not waste a lot of space.

One needs to be best informed on the time to be taken in travelling will take. This is to ensure that you do not carry much or less and spend more money to get other clothes. It is recommended that one pack clothes from the least important to those they will be using most. This helps you spend less time locating the outfit you need as well as eases organizing the clothes. You can always have jackets and sweaters at the bottom of your travelling bag as well; it makes it easy for one to have the rest of the clothes packed over.

Being observant of the season is very important. It would be absurd carrying socks and your winter boots for summer. You can also research more on the place you will be residing in for you can suffer climatic changes. However, one needs to have at least two warm clothes even when travelling in the cold season, you can experience climatic changes and end up catching the flu. To ensure that you choose colours wisely, you should have bright colours for the hot season to avoid a lot of heat being trapped in your clothes.

You need to understand the purpose of your travel to ensure that you have the right outfits with you. If you are travelling for a business engagement, you should have official and casual clothes; this is because they are days that you will be off from official engagements. It is much easier when travelling for a vacation because you only need to carry light clothes that take up less space in your bag. You can as well have alternatives for outfits such as coats and replace them with sweaters after a long period of putting on them.

It is also relevant for one to carry clothes that can dry up fast. Materials such as linen and silk would do especially for female outfits. This is always important to ensure that you do not spend a lot of time as well as resources trying to seek dry cleaning services when you can do the cleaning on your own. Most people consider washing their clothes, especially when relying on airing services while on vacation. There are many outfits sold on online stores that would perfectly fit your vacation needs, ensure you go for these options for they tend to be much cheaper than getting them in the area you will be travelling to.

An outfit that matches well with other accessories and shoes is the best to have. There is no point for one to carry clothes that will require you to make an additional expense. Always ensure that you check your wardrobe first and get rid of clothes and will be less needed. For men, you can decide to carry different types of pants, different t-shirt colours, and shirts. This will help reduce the tendency at which you wear the same clothes all over again.

If you are travelling with your friends on vacation, you can consider swapping clothes; ladies mostly do this. If you require that one outfit to rock in and post a picture on social media, you can consider getting your friends. There are light covers up for women wear that can be worn when you are not on the beach. This may be best compared to carrying sweaters and other kinds of heavy outfits that would end up taking more space in your bag.

There is a point in our lives that we sorely lacked something interesting to wear from our wardrobes. At such times, we rush to ordering many new clothes online without checking the following practices as listed below.

Make your outfits

If you love crocheting and handmade outfits, it would be best if you purchased the materials you will require for that. When making the outfits, ensure that you have someone to take the measurements to ensure that you have the best result. If you have some jeans( denims) that you have not worn in a long time, it would be best if you made a handmade crop top to match it.

Clothing swaps with friends

If you have made clothes that you no longer put on due to failing to fit properly or lack interest, swapping them with friends would be best. You can consider hosting the swapping and request them to come over with clothes that they no longer need. You might be even surprised to find that your friends locate an outfit they have been seeking for a long time without settling on anything.

Sell clothes that you no longer need

Social media would be the best avenue to resell your clothes. If you have quite a some following, you should get quality pictures and videos of your clothes and post them. It would be quite helpful if you asked your friends and followers to repost the information and share it with their friends. This will make you reach a larger audience- hence more sales. If your garage is well accommodating, it would be best to announce a garage outfit sale in your neighbourhood. Most of these garage sales tend to be more active since you get to engage with your customers adequately.

Use cash to shop

Most people can attest to that they find themselves over shopping than they planned to. Making use of a credit card when shopping makes you the urge to get more clothes since you have the resources. Instead, carry cash enough for the clothes that you want to get; it is essential to note that you can easily suffer a poor credit score with the unnecessary spending that you make. Also, always ensure that you check out the store website before and have a look at the clothes you want to get in advance.

Set a budget

Whether you will be visiting a physical or online store, you need to understand what you need and budget for it as well. You can do this best by checking out different stores to understand whether they have the same prices or not. Do not misuse customer loyalty and end up spending a lot of money on an outfit you could have got from another shop. However, it is important to carry a little more cash since the store would be undergoing prices adjustments without your knowledge.

Check out thrift stores

More people ignore shopping for their clothes in thrift stores and end up missing out on the best offers. The best thing about thrift stores is that they have a wide range of outfits that you can keep checking out from time to time. They tend to be unique as well and would be the best to put on with clothes that you have not worn for a long period. Most thrift stores are known to offer affordable prices on their outfits compared to what other stores would offer. Always updates on the days that these thrift stores expect new arrivals.

Take advantage of clearance sales

If you follow our favourite outfit stores on social media, you might have come across announcements made regarding their clearance sales. Most of these sales are handled to get rid of outfits that have been in their stores for a long period. The best thing about clearance sales is that they offer almost half the price of the original price. Always ensure that you are subscribed to receiving notifications regarding your preferred clothes store.

Check out stores' discounts

Have you ever come across offers on picking five outfits and getting one free? Other stores offer a certain discount as well when introducing a new product in the market. It is always essential to take advantage of these sales before the shops decide to hike them.

WOMEN can now buy a contraceptive pill over the counter without a prescription following a consultation with a pharmacist after the UK's Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) today granted a licence to Maxwellia's Lovima®.

This reclassification of the daily progestogen-only pill is one of the biggest revolutions in women's health in the 60 years since the pill was first launched in the UKi, finally putting more women even more in charge of their daily contraception by widening access.

For the first time, this game-changing decision allows women to buy Lovima® – a daily progestogen-only pill which contains desogestrel 75mcg – over the counter from a local British high street or supermarket pharmacy without needing a prescription from a doctor or sexual health clinic.

The licence was granted following a three week public consultation triggered by a reclassification request spearheaded by Maxwellia, a pioneering, British pharma company. The move has been welcomed by women's health organisations including the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) which have been campaigning tirelessly to make the progestogen-only pill available without prescription at pharmacies to improve contraception access for womenii,iii.

Figures show more than a third of women are unable to access contraception services and half of all UK pregnancies are unplanned, costing the NHS around £240 million each year[ii]. Women spend 30 years of their lives on average trying to avoid an unplanned pregnancyii and the UK still has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in Western Europe, with rates up to five times higher than some other countriesiv.

Dr Diana Mansour, a Vice-President of the FSRH and a Consultant in Community Gynaecology and Reproductive Health Care at New Croft Centre in Newcastle, says: "We welcome this decision – it's a positive step for both women and healthcare professionals. The progestogen-only pill is an effective form of oral contraception trusted by millions of women. Close medical monitoring is not required with this pill and so it is perfectly acceptable to delegate this responsibility to qualified pharmacists, improving contraception access for those women who wish to pay for their progestogen-only pill and free up GP, community contraception and sexual health service appointments for more complex work."

The decision comes as new research commissioned by Lovima® found that almost three quarters (70%) of women who have used contraception agree the contraceptive pill should be easier to get hold of and more widely available. The survey, which questioned 1,009 women in the UK aged 18-55, also found that nearly half (48%) would be deterred from getting contraception because it's difficult or too time consuming or because it's inconvenient to get a GP or sexual health clinic appointment. Nearly half (44%) said they would be willing to pay to get the contraception they need more quickly and easily.

Two thirds (67%) of 18 to 24-year-olds surveyed who have used contraception admit having had difficulty getting hold of it, with a third (29%) having less predictable periods, one in five (21%) left feeling anxious, 16% having more risks with their sexual health, 14% having had a pregnancy scare and 11% having to get the morning after pillV.

Maxwellia founder and CEO, Anna Maxwell, a registered pharmacist, says: "This decision is game-changing for many women who, for the first time in history, can now buy this form of oral contraception from their local pharmacy. It is clear that the limited and restricted way women can currently access contraception isn't working for many of them. When the contraceptive pill was first made available in the UK 60 years ago this year, doctors were only allowed to prescribe it to married women. This is 2021. We have liberated this pill Lovima®, containing desogestrel 75mcg, from prescription status, so women can live the lifestyle they want, be in charge of their body and decide when or if they have a baby – and that includes choosing to buy Lovima® following a consultation with their pharmacist."

Supporting the decision, Dr Anne Connolly, GP and Chair of the Primary Care Women's Health Forum, says: "We have been lobbying for this licence change for many years and are pleased it has finally happened. Providing greater access to effective contraception is so important in today's society. Pharmacists are more than qualified to help women make the decision about whether the progestogen only pill is the right form of contraception for them but have been a highly underutilised contraceptive service resource until now. Recognising the important role pharmacists should play in our primary care service provision has always been important but never more than now during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Royal Pharmaceutical Society Director of Pharmacy Robbie Turner says: "The Royal Pharmaceutical Society welcomes the MHRA's decision to allow a progestogen-only contraceptive pill to be provided directly to women by pharmacists without the need for a prescription. This move will increase access to an effective method of contraception and enable women to make an informed choice about their needs after discussion with a pharmacist. Pharmacies already play an important role in provision of contraception and are a convenient, expert source of help and advice."

Lovima ® will be available from UK pharmacies including Superdrug and Lloyds, from the end of July at a retail price of around £10 per month. Women can get Lovima® from their local pharmacy, following a consultation with their pharmacist. Maxwellia has also developed a checklist online for women to complete beforehand to aid the consultation (lovima.com). Maxwellia is dedicated to helping break down contraception access barriers faced by women by launching Lovima® into pharmacies and supporting greater sexual health education and awareness.