UrbanGeekz for Tech Lovers and Innovators of Color, Fills Critical News Gap
By Norma Stanley | December 2022
A concerted effort by seasoned journalist Kunbi Tinuoye to increase coverage of technology and innovation by people of color, has been met with major success with the creation of the UrbanGeekz.com news site.
A digital news platform focused on technology, science, business and startups from a multicultural perspective, UrbanGeekz’s mission is to make technology ‘cool’ and accessible, while highlighting STEM-related fields, business and entrepreneurship as exciting and rewarding career paths for women and underrepresented groups, according to its founder, Kunbi Tinuoye.
“Technology and innovation is the future of society and UrbanGeekz was launched about seven years ago when I spotted a gap in the market and I’m glad to say the response has been huge,” says Tinuoye, a British-born journalist and broadcaster now based in the United States. “There didn’t seem to be anyone telling the story of people of color in the technology space by mainstream or black-led media, but now UrbanGeekz is helping to change the narrative for tech innovators of color, by telling their stories,” said Tinuoye.
A former news correspondent for a major network subsidiary here in the U.S., Tinuoye, who is from London, also served as a senior broadcast journalist for the BBC. The University of Cambridge graduate also served as an international writer for publications such as The Daily Mail, London’s Evening Standard, Ebony.com, etc., Tinuoye is also a sought-after on-air contributor, speaker, panelist and conference moderator. She recently appeared on MSNBC and facilitated a panel discussion at the 500 Startups Unity and Inclusion Summit.
In addition, Tinuoye and UrbanGeekz have been lauded by other media sites. For example, Ovation Magazine has named Tinuoye one of the 50 most influential Nigerians in the diaspora; Ranker has listed UrbanGeekz as one of the top 20 ‘Best Tech Blogs’ online; she has been named one of Crunchbase’s 25 Black Entrepreneurs Making Waves and PR Newswire has recognized UrbanGeekz as one of the Top 10 African-American news sites.
“Tech for people of color was not so sexy seven or eight years ago, but it feels good to see how there are now other sites offering tech and science news about people of color and how content from UrbanGeekz is frequently picked up from other media brands like Huffington Post, Tech Crunch, etc.,” shared Tinuoye. “One of the main reasons I created UrbanGeekz was to educate, inspire and entertain those coming to the site, as well as to help young people see themselves and the possibilities in those stories,” Tinuoye continued.
“Everything now is tech-enabled and you can’t be what you can’t see, so it’s important to tell the stories of black and brown founders who are helping to shape the world through their innovations,” said Tinuoye.
Interestingly, Tinuoye did not necessarily have much knowledge of tech prior to founding UrbanGeekz. However, she was a quick study and now considers herself a technologist. In fact, she has the technological skills to troubleshoot and build out her websites. A key player in the Atlanta tech startup ecosystem,
Tinuoye serves as a lead mentor for The Farm Accelerator. Additionally, this year, Tinuoye and her team launched Geekz Ventures, a pre-accelerator for underestimated entrepreneurs launching their first tech-enabled startup, which will take on five to 10 early-stage founders and teach them how to set up a business.
Kunbi Tinuoye facilitating a BitCoin Conference Panel
“Tech and innovation is where things are heading. We even see celebrities like Nas, Jay Z, and Serena Williams participating in the venture capital space. I want my work to help diversify the startup ecosystem,” says Tinuoye. ‘If the stories we share on UrbanGeekz helps to inspire just one Black or Brown person to pursue a career in tech and science and become innovators, we would have fulfilled the purpose of UrbanGeekz,” she said.
Tinuoye is also quick to credit her small Atlanta-based team for the company’s growth and success.
“We have a small, but mighty team of really solid professionals who are very focused on the work they do and we’re looking forward to the upcoming year,” shared Tinuoye. “I am very ambitious and think really big, so we’re looking forward to getting bigger and better in 2023, so the sky is the limit!” she said.
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