Chicago’s tech sector has around 160,000 job openings currently, according to the Chicagoland Chamber’s Technology Council, and at least one startup thinks the South Side is a good place to look to fill those roles.
Bitwise Industries, which trains tech workers in underserved communities, develops software and invests in tech-friendly real estate, announced an $80 million raise led by Kapor Center and Motley Fool with participation from Goldman Sachs and Citibank. The funding will be used in part to fuel the Fresno, California, company’s Chicago expansion.
“The thing that makes us unique is that the folks that are doing this work are from underrepresented communities, folks that typically are not seen or thought of as being part of the tech workforce,” Ayoka Noelle Mota Samuels, inaugural vice president of Bitwise Industries Chicago, told Chicago Inno. “We intentionally recruit and train folks that are within those communities.”
The company will establish a 6,000-square-foot South Chicago Avenue building that will serve as a temporary home for Bitwise as it finalizes a permanent space.
The building, located in Chicago’s Greater Grand Crossing community, will operate in partnership with nearby Comer Education Campus, which consists of the Gary Comer Youth Center, a college prep high school and middle school, an urban farm and an active affordable housing initiative.
Growing Chicago's tech workforce from within
By leveraging public-private partnerships, Bitwise provides paid apprenticeships to students to learn the skills needed for a successful career in tech — an industry that saw average salaries jump 3.3% in 2021 to more than $115,000. Bitwise hopes to work specifically with young adults age 18 to 25 for whom college was not an option, and also targets college dropouts and people who were formerly incarcerated.
Apprenticeship programs last around a year, and about 30% of those who finish the program find employment with Bitwise and the remaining find employment with a third-party organization.
Samuels described Chicago as a city of neighborhoods, which can sometimes lead to resources being concentrated in certain neighborhoods instead of others. She said the plan is for the company to focus on the Greater Grand Crossing community and other neighborhoods that surround it.
Bitwise Industries says it has helped support the creation of thousands of jobs in the cities it has worked in and supported the skilling of more than 10,000 individuals — 80% of whom have gone on to technical employment after completion of the program — while also renovating more than 1 million square feet in previously vacant, blighted spaces within underserved downtown areas across the country.
“The role technology plays in driving economic impact in previously underserved communities validates our model and makes it possible for us to roll out our proven approach into other parts of the country,” Samuels said.
