From Web Summit to US Congress: How the Caucus on Black Innovation was born

A fortuitous meeting at Web Summit between Black Innovation Alliance founder Kelly Burton and US Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett led to the recent announcement of the Caucus on Black Innovation by the US House Democrats.

In what promises to be a boon for founders and business owners of colour, the US House Democrats recently announced the creation of the Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation, to be led by Stacey Plaskett, the delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands.

The idea for the caucus first formed when Kelly Burton, the founder of one of our community partners Black Innovation Alliance (BIA), met with Stacey at Web Summit 2021 in Lisbon. “[It] came out of a meeting with Congresswoman Plaskett …as a direct result of that interaction,” explained Kelly.

BIA: Growing Black businesses

Black Innovation Alliance (BIA) is a coalition of Black founders, investors, and leaders in the technology industry, whose mission is to increase the number of successful Black-led startups and to support the growth and success of Black entrepreneurs.

Founded in 2020, the organisation aims to provide access to resources, networks, and capital for Black entrepreneurs and to drive economic growth and innovation in the Black community. BIA also focuses on increasing representation and inclusion in the tech industry and promoting policies that support Black entrepreneurs and innovation.

Speaking to us in 2021 when BIA first attended Web Summit, Kelly said: “Black folks have a lot to contribute to these innovation spaces, the innovation economy. We have been locked out from so much for so long”.

“We’re having a conversation in the states about the racial wealth gap and that it’s going to take hundreds of years to close it because it took hundreds of years to create it,” explained the founder.

Legislating for change

Following on from their first serendipitous meeting at Web Summit 2021, BIA held a joint press conference with Congresswoman Stacey Plaskett at our Lisbon event in 2022 to talk about the launch of the caucus and what it would mean in terms of delivering legislation to close the racial wealth gap in the US.

Co-led by US representatives Marilyn Strickland of Washington and Ritchie Torres of New York, the caucus aims to remove barriers for Black people in entrepreneurship, business ownership, and job creation by addressing economic and financial barriers faced by Black innovators including inadequate access to capital and lack of training supports.

The Congressional Caucus on Black Innovation, according to The Washington Times, aligns with US President Joe Biden’s agenda on equity which includes increasing support for Black innovators and increasing Black homeownership and grants to struggling small businesses owned by people of colour.

BIA is coming to Web Summit’s North American event Collision 2023 as a community partner. If you would like to find out more about the benefits of becoming a Web Summit community partner, read more here.

Main image of Kelly Burton, founder, Black Innovation Alliance: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Web Summit (CC BY 2.0)