Collaboration Awaits: Blacktech Weekend aims to connect black innovators with a lasting network

The most important aspect of Blacktech Weekend’s return to Kansas City Friday: connecting individuals from different segments of the entrepreneur cityscape, said Denayja Reese. “Across industries, we want them to collaborate with each other and continue to build community as well as bring in folks who are outside of the community into the fold,” said…

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KC Fed: We can fix the digital divide (and solutions come without a high cost)

Editor’s note: The opinions expressed in this commentary are the author’s alone. Jeremy Hegle is senior community development advisor at Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. [divide] Some issues affecting the digital divide are complex — expanding availability of affordable broadband, for example, requires government policy, technology, and lots of money.  It can seem daunting…

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Report: Black women’s impact overlooked in KC startup community and beyond

Raise a hand if you know that black women have created more than 1 million jobs, Dell Gines challenged. A statistics-based question –– frequently answered with an expected, yet glacial silence ––  acknowledges an unprecedented phenomenon in both the small business community and within the confines of the often-exclusive startup ecosystem, said Gines, Federal Reserve…

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