In3DC: In Fast Company Article

Startup investing has a race problem. Here’s why Black-owned tech hubs are key to closing the racial wealth gap

The CEO of Village Capital argues that these key tech hubs are not getting the resources they need. But there are two simple ways for anyone to help them get what they need.

Startup investing has a race problem. Here’s why Black-owned tech hubs are key to closing the racial wealth gap - By Allie Burns CEO Village Capital

The Inclusive Innovation Incubator (In3) sits on the edge of Howard University in Washington, D.C. It’s a coworking space and incubator for Black and under-resourced founders, in a city struggling with a deep racial wealth gap. Yet, like so many Black-owned innovation spaces hubs around the country, it’s struggling to raise the funds to just keep the doors open.

Startup investing has a race problem. Black entrepreneurs receive less than 1% of venture capital dollars in the United States. In the past two decades, only 200 Black and Latinx founders have raised more than a million dollars. In the past few years as the CEO of Village Capital based in Washington, D.C., I’ve watched our nation’s capital become a hub for entrepreneurship and technology. But walk through the halls of the city’s incubators and coworking spaces and you’ll see mostly white faces.

In the past few weeks, we’ve all seen investors and tech leaders talk and tweet about the need to close the race gap in venture capital. In3 is perfectly positioned to close some of these gaps. But as In3’s founder Aaron Saunders explained to me in a recent conversation, talk doesn’t always lead to actual resources.

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