Rutgers U.’s Black and Latino Tech Initiative to Help Minority Entrepreneurs Gain Support and Funding

Rutgers University’s Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED), a research driven, practitioner-oriented program that supports minority entrepreneurs, will present the Black and Latino Tech Initiative Launch (BLT) on Thursday, March 2. The free event will offer guidance about funding opportunities for black and Latino tech entrepreneurs and investors from New Jersey, New York, Long Island, and Connecticut, and will take place at Newark Venture Partners in Newark, NJ.

“Less than 2% of all technology start-ups are led by black or Latino individuals”, says CUEED Executive Director Lyneir Richardson. “The reasons for this are two-fold: black and Latino entrepreneurs have difficulty securing capital and they also have challenges building business teams that get accepted into top tier accelerators. Our BLT Launch event will seek to remedy this situation by providing scientists, inventors, and technology innovators with essential info that will give their ideas a chance to be developed, funded, and launched into the marketplace.”

Details about the event are as follows:

“Black and Latino Tech Initiative Launch: Connecting Founders of Color to Capital”

• Location/time:  Newark Venture Partners – 1 Washington Place, 7th floor, Newark, NJ (Rutgers entrance) from 6 to 8pm.
• Open to solo entrepreneurs and/or teams in any industry with a tangible product who want to build their networks and meet prospective angel investors.
• Accepted applicants to the Black and Latino Tech Initiative will gain access to the Rutgers Business School faculty, staff, and an expansive network of experts to help them get admitted into an accelerator and attract meaningful capital investment.
• Interested participants can learn more about the Black and Latino Tech Initiative.
• Registration is free, and RSVP is required.

Black and Latino investors, scientists, inventors, and tech entrepreneurs (including developers, programmers, business development, and marketing professionals) from New Jersey, New York, Long Island, and Connecticut who would like more information about the BLT Launch should contact Lyneir Richardson at (973) 353-5987.

About The Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED)

The Rutgers University Center for Urban Entrepreneurship & Economic Development (CUEED) is the first center of its kind in the nation to integrate scholarly works with private capital, government, and non-profit sectors to develop citywide resources and bring renewed economic growth and vitality through urban entrepreneurship. We promote and foster a new generation of urban entrepreneurs who actively seek socially conscious urban renaissance.