OneTech is on a mission to grow 200 London female and BAME-led start-ups by 2020 – here’s how it’s going to do it

The initiative wants to improve the diversity of London's tech scene 
Amelia Heathman30 October 2018

A new programme from London start-up scheme Capital Enterprise and JP Morgan Chase Foundation wants to improve the diversity of London’s tech scene but it’s not going to be easy.

Named OneTech, the new initiative wants to help 200 female and BAME-led (Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic) start-ups to grow and scale in London, with the view to helping 50 companies gain investment.

At the moment, only four per cent of the UK’s tech industry come from BAME backgrounds, and only 19 per cent of the workforce is female, something the programme hopes to change.

Research released today by Tech Nation shows that companies with more diverse boards raise more investment and report higher turnovers than those without, showing there is an economic incentive to improve the diversity in the industry.

Capital Enterprise along with its partners including Tech Nation, Diversity VC, and Your Startup; Your Story (YSYS) will provide mentorship for the founders by matching them with entrepreneurs, giving them advice on how to get ready for early-stage funding, as well as providing hot desk space.

In particular, OneTech wants to find tech founders in Hackney, Newham and Tower Hamlets, boroughs close to Silicon Roundabout.

“These three boroughs are on the doorstep of London’s tech ecosystem, but many of these communities don’t have access to the opportunities that are literally on their doorstep,” Emma Obanye, head of delivery for Capital Enterprise, tells the Standard.

If there’s anyone who understands the London start-up scene, and the challenges it poses for people from diverse backgrounds, it’s Obanye. She grew up on a council estate in Hackney and studied engineering at university, before launching a start-up named Buddy Bounce, a platform to engage and leverage online influencers.

Obanye and her co-founder went through one of Capital Enterprise’s programmes, Green Light, which helps founders prepare to raise their seed round, giving them advice and support around pitching to investors.

“I understand the barriers and obstacles that many people face [going into tech],” explains Obanye. "The tech ecosystem works for many people but it needs to work for way more [so] we need to expand these opportunities to underrepresented communities.”

One of OneTech’s major tasks is to go into these communities and find budding tech entrepreneurs. Your Startup; Your Story is going to be holding outreach events, working with community leaders and local authorities, to signpost people over to the programme. Depending on the success of targeting these three boroughs, OneTech hopes to expand the outreach to cover other parts of London.

In a statement, YSYS’s founder Deborah Okenla said: “Diversity drives innovation and through this initiative we can begin to make London's tech ecosystem a truer reflection of its population."

YSYS will also be working with accelerators in the London tech scene to review and improve their processes so they are able to target different communities to increase the diversity of the companies they work with.

As well, OneTech hopes to shine a light on founders such as Obanye to inspire more women and BAME individuals to follow in their footsteps.

“We’re going to be telling the stories of founders who are doing amazing things and come from these communities so that people will see and read the stories of people that have come from similar backgrounds,” explains Obanye. “Hopefully there will be a new wave of people going into the thriving ecosystem.”

The ultimate goal for the programme is to help 50 founders raise a total of £15 million to grow and scale their companies. OneTech will also be working alongside Loughborough University, which will be working on a longitudinal study to measure the impact of the work, with the view to offering recommendations for the next one.

Obanye adds: “We want this to be a movement - not something that just ends in two years. We believe that really this is a mission for everyone, not just for ourselves."

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