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California-based venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz recently announced new partners in an expansion of their tech-based mission to increase Black generational wealth.
In a press release, the company announced four new key partners to their cause as Economy Partners: Colorstack, Inc., The Colorwave Project, Inc., The Hidden Genius Project and The Marchy Lab School.
Created in 2020, ColorStack Inc. focuses on helping Black and Latinx learners who study computer science find positions in the professional field. Meanwhile, nonprofit The Colorwave Project’s mission is to help BIPOC entrepreneurs find positions at venture capital-sponsored startups.
The Hidden Genius Project, founded in 2012, also focuses on nurturing young talent emerging in the career field. The nonprofit offers mentoring and training to young Black male students in tech through lessons on tech creation, business and leadership skills. The Marcy Lab School also focuses on helping those who want to study tech and find positions in the tech field through alternative means to college.
The company also announced the initiatives Black@, the Black Collegiate Gaming Association, Black Women in Blockchain, Black in Gaming Foundation and the National Math and Science Initiative HBCU Teach as new CLF Community Builder partners. With the new initiative, the venture capital firm will be supporting these initiatives with donations.
“While the ecosystem partner program leans into long standing organizations that have proven to increase the pipeline of Black talent into the tech industry, there was an opportunity to innovate on our model,” said the company in a press release. “As our firm’s investment areas expanded and new technologies proliferated—for example, the rise in popularity and interest in web3—we recognized the need to deploy capital more flexibly throughout the life of our funds.”
“With this new strategy, we can now bolster organizations that, while they may be new, are squarely focused on meeting the needs of the Black community as new trends unfold,” they added.
The company’s Cultural Leadership Fund program’s mission is to increase Black talent in technology to accumulate generational wealth for the community. Although there has been an increase in diversity in the tech world, a limited number of roles are still being filled by BIPOC tech leaders.
According to a report by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, while nearly 64% to 69% of the high-tech career field is occupied by white employees, only about eight percent to 15% of these positions are filled by Black employees.
