Helen Huang and Sefunmi Osinaike are redefining inclusivity in the tech industry with Co.Lab, whose hands-on mentorship-based programs are helping Black and underrepresented Canadians get a headstart in tech. Co.Lab Launched three years ago, Co.Lab has already made significant waves in the tech community, breaking barriers and fostering a sense of belonging among minorities. “Our entire motto at Co.Lab is you belong in tech,” Huang told Now Toronto. “When you’re outside the club, everything inside seems so mysterious. All you do is hyper-fixate on the things you don’t feel like you
Sage, The BOSS Network, and Swoop have unveiled a new training and mentorship program to support Black women entrepreneurs in Atlanta. Sage is a small and medium-sized business accounting, financial, HR, and payroll technology leader. The BOSS Network, founded by Dr. Cameka Smith, is an online community of professional and entrepreneurial women who support each other through conversations or online and event-based networking. Swoop is a global fintech company specializing in funding solutions for businesses, and together, the three have created the Pathways to Success program. Challenges Black Women Founders Face The program was
A new content series puts HBCU students in conversation with actor Lance Gross, The Lip Bar founder Melissa Butler, and Kimberly Bryant. The three-part series, The Futurist, results from a collaboration between One Solution, Urban One’s branded solution division, and AT&T Dream In Black. AT&T Dream In Black is a platform that recognizes and celebrates an esteemed class of 25 HBCU students making a difference in their community and campus. “The Futurist” The Futurist is a three-part series that pairs HBCU students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and
The Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One (F1) team, fronted by seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton, is expanding its Accelerate 25 program. The mentorship program launched in 2020 in partnership with the Association for Black and Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK) and other organizations and is preparing to welcome its second cohort of students. Accelerate 25 Accelerate 25 is a five-year program that marked the formalization of Mercedes’ vision to become a more diverse and inclusive team. To begin the new Accelerate 25 program, they aimed to raise their entry standards and, until
Samuel Clague, founder and CEO of The Stephen James Partnership, is launching Qualified Black Lawyers Matter, a digital mentoring platform to boost Black representation in the legal sector. What is the digital mentoring scheme? Barbadian and English founder Clague runs The Stephen James Partnership, the UK’s only Black-owned legal recruitment company. The new mentoring platform will connect senior decision-makers in law firms and in-house legal teams to qualified Black lawyers at another organization. It builds on the firm’s previous mentoring scheme, “Endeavour,” which has reportedly connected more than 200 senior legal professionals with Black aspiring
Wisdom is an audio-first social discovery app fostering deeper connections and lasting friendships between like-minded users. Founded by British computer science graduate Dayo Akinrinade, Wisdom leverages advanced AI with the power of social audio to make the world a little wiser. “Wisdom offers women a safe space to converse about topics that matter to them, such as women’s rights, domestic violence, leadership, and wellness,” Akinrinade told Apple. “Our users who don’t identify as women consider themselves allies, and provide support by participating in the conversations or simply listening.” On Wisdom, users
To offer an in-depth, data-backed look into the unique Black experience in the tech industry, the Info-Tech Research Group has published The State of Black Professionals in Tech report. “Diversity in tech is not a new topic, and it’s not a secret that technology organizations struggle to attract and retain Black employees,” Allison Straker and Ugbad Farah, Info-Tech research directors and leads on the report, said in a statement. “Current events have once again brought diversity to the forefront for many organizations. The pandemic, along with preparations for a recession and
Intuit is hiring on pocitjobs.com As VP, Chief of AI & Data Operations, Sharon Hutchins leads business operations and program management for Intuit’s AI+Data organization. The company, which specializes in financial software, was recently in the spotlight after announcing an important goal: to increase female representation in the company’s technology roles from 30% to 37% by 2024. It’s a mission that Sharon 100% backs as she believes there’s room for everyone at the top. Before landing her senior leadership position, Sharon’s journey has been one of taking risks and not allowing
Mentor Connect is a mentorship program that eliminates the loneliness of being an entrepreneur. The mentorship program, sponsored by Ben Franklin Technology Partners and Philadelphia Alliance for Capital and Technologies (PACT), currently has over 200 mentees and 130 mentors in its network. The network aims to provide a positive community for entrepreneurs to grow and connect with like-minded people. Not only does it give them space to share their concerns and issues, but it also helps provide them with a reliable network they can lean on in their time of need. “We always say
The pre-seed fund, Visible Hands, has officially launched the second cohort of its “Visionaries Accelerator” program. The initiative, which aims to support overlooked and underrepresented founders, welcomed 51 new founders to its flagship program. The program, which will take place from September to December, will see each company work full-time towards building their business, with financial support from the Visible Hands team. Each founder will receive a starting investment of $25,000. Throughout the program, they will have the chance to earn additional assets of up to $150,000 as they progress.
