Public-private coalition 1Philadelphia is set to host its second annual Innovation Weekend at a time when Executive Director Danae Mobley says the city has a chance to become a "model and hub for tech equity."
Comprising various companies, nonprofits and the City of Philadelphia, 1Philadelphia's mission is to advance diversity and equity in the region's tech ecosystem. The citywide initiative was launched in 2021 by Coded by Kids, where Mobley serves as chief operating officer.
The organization's Innovation Weekend will take place Friday and Saturday with various events in locations across the city. Programming includes panels, a demo day and the Innovation Awards.
Mobley said it's an opportunity to bring city leaders together in what she sees as a "pivotal moment" for Philadelphia. As the city elects a new mayor, Mobley said she hopes the next administration works to prop up tech education in Philadelphia schools and looks at ways to provide capital to startup founders from underrepresented groups.
"Going into a new administration, we're looking at some of the things that have recently happened with the new tech hub designation," Mobley said. "We have a moment here, where if we take a step back, evaluate, and [are] really strategic where we move forward, I think there's a great moment for our city here. With some preparation and some collaboration, I think we can definitely meet our moment and raise Philadelphia's profile."
Thus far, Mobley and her team have raised over $250,000 for underrepresented businesses with support from more than 80 organizations. She said the broad, long-term goal of 1Philadelphia is to create a tech workforce that is reflective of a city that is 43% Black and 16% Hispanic. According to a study from CompTIA, Black or African American workers make up just 9% of the Philadelphia metro area's tech workforce and Hispanic or Latino workers make up just 4%.
Boosting those numbers requires growing the region's tech ecosystem on the whole, Mobley said. About 4% of the employment in the Philadelphia area is in its tech workforce, according to the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia. Mobley hopes that number can double to 8% by 2030, with 1Philadelphia giving the city and the region a uniting force to boost representation in tech.
"It's the collective investment that we need, and a vision to work towards, and that's our goal," Mobley said. "Our job is to set that vision and work with that coalition of stakeholders to move the needle. So I'm really hopeful that because of that, we will be able to see significant progress in the next few years."
Innovation Weekend will welcome speakers like Comcast Chief Diversity Officer Dalila Wilson-Scott, Pew Charitable Trusts Senior Vice President Donna Frisby-Greenwood and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce for Greater Philadelphia Vice President for Strategic Partnerships Javier Suárez. There will also be an "Innovation Bowl" for the city's high school entrepreneurs that will dole out $5,000 to the winner.
The weekend is capped off by the Innovation Awards, which take place Saturday night at the Barnes Foundation. The program will hand out awards in six categories: Entrepreneur of the Year, Young Leader of the Year, Advocate for Equity, Catalyst for Change, Community Cultivator and the 215 Award, which recognizes an organization advocating for diversity, equity and inclusion. Though the weekend will end by honoring the region's tech leaders, Mobley hopes that it also emphasizes the pathways for young people to get involved in the tech workforce.
"We're trying to create a space for founders and investors that highlights our emerging and vibrant startup and venture community here," Mobley said. "We're also trying to make sure that there are spaces available for opportunity seekers, or people that are just getting into tech and just understanding the opportunities. We want to make sure that they have places to understand, how do they skill up? How do they really optimize this moment for them to be able to enter a workforce?"
