WURD partnered with The Plug to spotlight the Black tech community in Philadelphia. We tell stories that illustrate how technology impacts Black people and how economic innovation emerges within our communities.
A Growing Psychedelic Community in Philadelphia
By: Alesia Bani
KEY INSIGHTS:
New organization Philadose is working to destigmatize psychedelics and psychedelic therapy through its social club, networking events…
Cheyney University Expands Research in Biotech with $5 Million in Funding for New Incubator
By: Alesia Bani Published on: Jun 29, 2022
Key Insights: Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is developing a biotech incubator project for cell…
UPenn Is Partnering With Five HBCUs To Attract Diverse Students To Its Medical School
By: Alesia Bani Published on: Jun 27, 2022
Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) at the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) has expanded…
Black Women Founders Receive $500 Checks at Philadelphia Juneteenth Celebration
By: Alesia Bani Published on:Jun 27, 2022
Several female founders gathered at Coffee Cream & Dreams, a Black woman-owned coffee shop in the Fairmount…
African Business Leaders Meet at Temple to Address Gaps Between the Diaspora
By: Alesia Bani
Published on: Jun 28, 2022
Business owners, scholars and ambassadors gathered at the African Business Roundtable at Temple University last week…
HBCUs are Critical to Diversifying the Cybersecurity Workforce
By: Alesia Bani |. Published on: Jun 15, 2022
Advancing Minorities’ Interest in Engineering (AMIE), a nonprofit coalition of corporations, government agencies and…
Why are Black Founders Headquartering Their Startups in Philadelphia?
By: Alesia Bani. |. Published on: Aug 18, 2022 Key Insights: Philadelphia ranked 27th on a list of cities dubbed as…
New Food Tech is Coming in Hot to Philly
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Sep 20, 202 Key Insights: Philadelphia is a hub for food innovation with the new Philly…
New Opportunities for Philly’s Emerging Web3 Community
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Sep 15, 2022 Key Insights: Philly Startup Leader is launching a blockchain accelerator for Philadelphia-based founders. UPenn’s Wharton School…
Is Philadelphia Investing Enough in the Black Tech Ecosystem?
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Aug 04, 2022
Key Insights:
In 2021, 2,710 tech talent jobs were added in Philadelphia, but…
Black Founders are Working to Revolutionize the Immersive Tech Landscape
By: Alesia BaniPublished on: Sep 13, 2022
Key Insights:
This year’s Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs accelerator is focused on immersive technology startups.
…
Visible Hands is Investing in Underrepresented Founders in Philly
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Sep 08, 2022
Key Insights:
Visible hands launched its second accelerator cohort to support 51 underrepresented…
Two Years After Launching, SaaS Startup Stimulus Isn’t Slowing Down
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Aug 16, 2022
Key Insights:
Stimulus closed an oversubscribed $2.5 million seed round with Black Ops…
Pennsylvania is Investing $11 Million for Workforce Development Through Apprenticeship Programs Across the State
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Nov 29, 2022
KEY INSIGHTS:
$11 million from the PAsmart initiative is being allocated to 26…
1Philadelphia Debuts With ‘Innovation Weekend’ Two Years After Launch
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Nov 22, 2022
KEY INSIGHTS:
1Philadelphia celebrates two year anniversary with an Innovation Weekend in the…
Philadelphia Invests $10MM for Transformative City Projects
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Nov 03, 2022
KEY INSIGHTS:
Philadelphia’s Operations Transformation Fund is a $10 million grant to support…
Philadelphia’s Anchor Institutions Spend Billions Every Year, Local Players are Trying to Increase Allocation to Black Businesses in the Region
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Nov 17, 2022
KEY INSIGHTS:
Hospitals and higher education institutions anchor Philadelphia’s regional economy, accounting for…
DATABASE: Where Accelerators that Support Black Founders are Located
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Oct 21, 2022
Startup accelerators are a tool for founders and entrepreneurs to gain access to mentorship,…
Mentorship Program in Philly Is Working to Make The Entrepreneurial Journey Less Lonely
By: Alesia Bani | Published on: Oct 18, 2022
KEY INSIGHTS
Mentor Connect is a mentorship program for entrepreneurs in Philadelphia powered…
How Building a Business is Art: Artist Collectives are Making Spaces for Creatives in Philly
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS: Philadelphia-based REC Philly is expanding its creative incubator space to Miami with a recent $2 million investment…
‘Agonizing’: Black Maternal Health Startups Struggle for Funding but New Crop of Black Women VCs Show Support
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS While femtech funding is on the rise, reaching $1 billion in 2021, SheMatters founder said raising for…
Donation Platform Philanthropi is Using Tech to Advance Everyday Giving
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS: Sixty-seven percent of charitable giving in 2021 came from individuals rather than corporations and foundations, with millennials…
Black Innovation Alliance is Using $10K Grants to Highlight the Importance of Tech-Enabled Small Businesses
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS: Black Innovation Alliance partnered with Google to give away a total of $50,000 to five Black-owned businesses.…
A New Program is Encouraging Philly Teens to Become Technologists Through Sports
By: Alesia Bani Key Insights: The Innovation League is a program developed by Coded by Kids to encourage careers in innovation and…
The Connect Wants Philadelphia to Become a ‘Mecca’ for Black and Brown Talent
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS: The Connect is focused on attracting and retaining Black and brown talent in Philadelphia by creating a…
Philadelphia’s Latest Efforts in Intentional Real Estate Puts Black Developers at the Forefront
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS: The Black Squirrel Collective recently completed the first phase of its accelerator to train Black and brown…
Philadelphia is Allocating Hundreds of Millions of Dollars to Address Mounting Gun Violence
By: Alesia Bani
KEY INSIGHTS:
Philadelphia has allocated over $200 million to violence prevention this year to address soaring gun violence; there…
These are Some of the Philly Founders You Need To Be Looking Out For in 2023
By: Alesia Bani
In October The Plug attended the Black and Brown Founders Chroma Conference in Philadelphia. The theme of the 2022 event: money. Founders, aspiring…
Philly Businesses, Organizations and Initiatives Making Moves in 2022
By: Alesia Bani
KEY INSIGHTS:
Several Black-owned businesses based in Philadelphia received multi-million dollar investments in 2022.
Support organizations like 1Philadelphia,…
Using Tech Upskilling and Access to Employment as a Framework to Reduce Recidivism
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS: Lack of job training and high rates of unemployment for formerly incarcerated people contribute to the high…
Founders are Building Independent Employment Platforms for the Future of Hiring
By: Alesia Bani KEY INSIGHTS: Leading search engines like Indeed, LinkedIn and Glassdoor dominate the digital hiring market, but Black founders say…