At CES® 2019, the Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, owner and producer of the show, announced a $10 million funding commitment in venture firms and funds focused on women, people of color and other underrepresented startups and entrepreneurs.

“To continue to evolve and grow, the tech industry needs more equal access to venture funding,” said Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, CTA. “Various research reports indicate diverse teams make better decisions and achieve greater profits. At CTA, this is one more tool we are deploying to help promote diversity in the technology industry.”

As part of the commitment, CTA has — to date — invested in Harlem Capital Partners, SoGal Ventures, Rethink Impact, Founders First Capital Partners and Plum Alley.

Recently, CTA announced its sixth investment: Collab Capital, which focuses on early-stage investments in tech and tech-enabled companies with Black founders.

Investing in a Diverse Future Across All Fronts

Collab Capital aims to solve the unique funding challenges experienced by Black entrepreneurs, providing access to knowledge and tools to help Black-owned startups have an equitable stake in the future of all industries. The firm focuses on three major areas:

• Future of work: Collab Capital is interested in companies at the forefront of tech-enabled solutions for the workers and workplaces of the future, meeting the increased demand for collaboration tools and the uptick in remote work.
• Future of learning: The pandemic has highlighted pain points in education, including many that disproportionately affect Black students. Collab Capital aims to work with startups finding new ways to revolutionize the education process through technology.
• Future of care: Collab Capital is also looking to back entrepreneurs who are designing technology that increases access to health and wellness services, including mental health, feminine care and elder care.

Closing the Racial Wealth Gap

“Black founders represent the fastest growing entrepreneurial segment,” said Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital. “But to this day, they remain the most under-funded and under-resourced group.”

Collab Capital highlights how, historically, Black people have not been adequately considered in the systems, products and services that enable access to the firm’s three focus areas and Black entrepreneurs have often been met with funding and networking challenges not experienced by others.

By investing in Black-owned startups, Collab Capital is working to deliver more inclusive solutions and encourage better outcomes for Black communities.

“We believe this is an important step in narrowing the racial wealth disparity while driving sustained economic recovery across our country,” Burks Solomon said.

Learn more about CTA’s $10 million investment commitment, including its K-12 STEM pipeline and its member forum.