Diversity Tech Summit 2016

Wayra UK, Diversity UK and KPMG are working together to host the first Diversity Tech Summit aimed at the start-up ecosystem on Monday 13th June 2016, followed by an evening reception to launch the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech 2016. This event will take place one week before the second London Technology Week.

In 2015, during London Technology Week, Wayra UK launched startupDNA, the first research study to reveal the social makeup of Britain’s start-up ecosystem. The research - which started a conversation across three continent's with over 70 pieces of PR - made a number of discoveries:

• It’s clear that diversity helps start-ups in a number of ways in relation to overcoming challenges, competing in markets, and innovating. For example, 78.9% of individuals agree that diversity helps start-up teams compete.
• London beats other ecosystems, including Silicon Valley, NYC and Tel Aviv, in terms of gender diversity. For example, compared to the US, an entrepreneur is 5x more likely to be female in the UK.
• UK start-ups are more ethnically diverse than Silicon Valley and NYC. Respectively 79%, 82% and 89% white.
• The UK is a global magnet for entrepreneurs – 1/3 are from abroad.

But, while the start-up ecosystem embraces diversity, there is a considerable diversity deficit:

• Men have far greater access to finance than women – almost 2x more likely to get VC finance.
• Start-ups in the UK are overwhelmingly middle-class.
• UK start-ups are very London-centric.
• The UK has so far produced very few “unicorns” like Uber despite having a healthy investment and stock market listing ecosystem

The Diversity Tech Summit is designed to bring together key individuals to pursue a diversity agenda and meet the challenges outlined in the startupDNA executive summary.

The Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech

"Wayra UK, KPMG and Diversity UK worked well together for the launch of the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list," said curator Lopa Patel MBE, Founder & CEO of Diversity UK, "so a natural extension is to create a summit to debate the detail of the issues Wayra's research and our list highlights".

Last year's Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list focused on those at Executive Levels within established companies and Founders in startups, with the shortlist process being carried out by a panel of seven judges from different sectors in the tech world. Winner of the Chairman’s Award was entrepreneur Dinesh Dhamija, previously the Founder of one of Europe’s most successful internet travel agencies, ebookers.com, and now the Founder and Chairman of Copper Beech, a company which manages investments in sustainable education, ecotourism and real estate.

“When I started compiling the list it quickly become apparent that a lot of South Asians are working in the tech industry, and increasingly in startup sectors, such as cleantech, fintech, healthtech, edtech and social enterprises. The range of different business models and the markets that they serve is staggering. With 21% female representation in the list, Asian women are also well represented in the UK Tech Industry, with many established in the investor, accelerator and venture capital space," added Lopa.

"We hope that many of the Asian Tech Stars will come and support the Diversity Tech Summit. They are role models, mentors and icons for many young people who aspire to work in Britain's digital and tech industries."

The Diversity Tech Summit takes place on Monday 13th June, 2016 at The Trampery, Old Street, London EC1V 9EY. It is free to attend but registration is mandatory. Click here to Register.