About 10 years ago, Kathryn Finney participated in a tech incubator program to help her launch a start-up based on her popular blog, The Budget Fashionista. “It was the first time in my life where I felt invisible,” she recalls. “I was the only black or Latino person, and one of four women out of about 50 people. I thought, ‘If I’m getting this, what’s happening to other people like me?’ ” In 2013, Finney founded Digitalundivided, now based in Atlanta, which provides training and support to entrepreneurs who are women of color. Among her many activities is #ProjectDiane, a research initiative that in February revealed that only about 88 U.S.-based tech start-ups have been founded by black women. Finney wants to raise that number—and raise awareness.
SKY: What is Digitalundivided’s work?
FINNEY: Our focus is always on economic empowerment. We believe that innovation in tech is a tool through which we can achieve that goal. We don’t look at tech as the end goal—it’s the tool. We think it’s important for all communities to participate and use tech as a tool to foster economic growth.
What was the impact of the #ProjectDiane report?
The most immediate impact was that all of a sudden people realized that there’s a problem. The problem was quantified. People didn’t know it was that bad—that there were so few women of color leading tech companies. The second impact has been on policy. We’ve had a lot of conversations with governmental leaders about what can be done about this.
We’ve been helped by some reports that have come out post-#ProjectDiane. A report by American Express on American women business owners found that 80 percent of all new small businesses are created by women of color. Which is a huge number.
There was also another report, released this year by the Center for Global Policy Solutions. That report found that . . . not investing in small businesses started by people of color is costing our economy upwards of $300 billion. We’re losing money by not investing in those. The central problem is that people weren’t giving capital to these companies to scale and grow.
Who are some successful women of color in tech?
One is Kellee James. She has a company called Mercaris, an online agricultural commodities exchange. Kellee has raised upwards of $3.4 million. Of all the tech businesses run by women of color, I predict that hers could IPO, if it’s not bought first. Another is Kelechi Anyadiegwu. She has a company called Zuvaa—it’s an online marketplace for African design. Kelechi’s company has scaled really quickly—to over $1 million in revenue in about a year and a half.
What’s next for Digitalundivided?
I always have a lot of ideas. But the most immediate is the new innovation space we’re opening this fall in Atlanta called BIG. It’s the first accelerator program targeted toward black and Latina women. It’s going to help everything that we do.