The Event Focused on Race and Gender Equity
BioSTL, which has focused on advancing St. Louis’ leadership in the areas of agriculture, medicine, healthcare and technology since 2001, hosted an Equity in Entrepreneurship Summit on Nov. 30 at Harris-Stowe State University.
The unique regional summit focused on race and gender equity among St. Louis’ early-stage, technology-based entrepreneurship ecosystem, entrepreneurs, support organizations, funders and investors. It featured thought-provoking presentations, interactive activities and solution-building discussions to plan a year of action for 2018.
The event also launched St. Louis’ Equity in Entrepreneurship Collective — an intentional effort of regional entrepreneur support organizations, investors, funders and company founders working to ensure that systems built to support new entrepreneurs in tech-based ventures operate equitably, especially related to race and gender.
Photo by Katherine Bish
The St. Louis’ Equity in Entrepreneurship Collective is a winner of the Kauffman Inclusion Challenge and one of the only efforts across the country that is focused on building equity in tech-based entrepreneurship ecosystems at a regional level, making the critical work the region does together a potential blueprint for the rest of the country.
“Central to this role is convening partners to align efforts and build capacity as we work to increase the number of women and people of color starting scalable businesses in St. Louis,” BioSTL Program Manager Natalie Self Clay. “This Equity Summit served as guidepost to identifying the most promising pathways to equity within the ecosystem, along with recommendations for critical actions needed.”
Photo by Katherine Bish
