AfroTech 2022 Merges Culture and Innovation to Elevate Diversity and Equity in Technology with Over 25K Black Professionals

The world’s largest Black conference, AfroTech, took over Austin, TX to merge the minds of afro-technologists, founders, investors, corporations, musicians, and everyone in between. The five day conference kicked off on November 13 and brought together over 25,000 registered attendees in a convergence of key innovators, professionals and entrepreneurs across tech, entertainment and business industries. Returning from the metaverse to its first in-person programming since the Covid-19 pandemic began, AfroTech injected a dose of culture to create a shared experience among its guests. The conference introduced its inaugural music experience – with special musical performances from Bas, Bia, MÉLA, DJ MOMA, Chief Cleopatra, Zaytoven, The Sauce Trio and more, including a performance from Wale at the AfroTech Official Day Party.

The Hype Magazine was granted VIP access to the conference keynotes, panels, receptions, and a slew of private parties to capture the essence and mission of this innovative event. In a press round table with Morgan DeBaun, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Blavity Inc., she spoke to the decision to incorporate music this year, sharing, “Music is a part of our culture, so we’re always looking for ways to entertain and engage. We’re adding the element of performances as a way to amplify that spontaneous connectivity which is critical to networking. There’s no better way than dancing with someone.” That connectivity was no more evident than a mind-blowing sea of thousands of elated conference-goers over-taking the Austin Convention Center and venues across the city while “Swag-Surfin” to Fast Life Yungstaz and Beyoncé’s “Cuff-It” challenge while exchanging QR-coded business cards over free-flowing champagne and margaritas.

Since its Oakland-mall inception in 2016, AfroTech conference attendance has continued to defy municipal leaders’ expectations by more than doubling in size each year and exponentially expanding partnership involvement from major corporations seeking a footprint to recruit diverse, experienced talent on-site. This year’s event is took place in Austin for the first time and brought together more than 300 brands and thousands of highly-technical Black professionals, many of whom are shaping equity and DEI initiatives at America’s largest corporations including Amazon, Meta, VMware, Google, Salesforce, Apple, Gap, Dreamville, Intuit, JP Morgan Chase, and Shopify and more.

AfroTech leadership is consistently urging accountability, and companies are responding by “putting their money where their mouth is” to drive equity with real action. Anré Williams, CEO, American Express National Bank & Group President, Enterprise Services, American Express shared an announcement on Wednesday, saying, “As we continue to create innovative products and services, we’re also focused on building a more diverse supply chain, and have committed to increasing our spend with Black-owned suppliers to at least $100 million annually by the end of 2024.”

With a unique and culturally engaging line-up of programming such as a fireside chat and performance by multi-platinum music producer Zaytoven, a Marvel’s “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” screening presented by Disney, a Queer Coffee Meetup, VC pitches at the AFROTECH CUP Finals Competitions and a Founder’s Reception – the conference had something for everyone. Among the week’s on-stage speaker highlights were Chamillionaire sharing on his journey from rapper to Investor in over 60 companies on the Learning Lab Stage presented by Silicon Valley Bank, Warner Bros. Records’ Vice President of A&R Wallace Joseph and Amazon Music’s Head of Hip-Hop and R&B Tim Hinshaw’s interview with Blavity’s Stephanie Ogbogu on streaming, NFTs and The Business of Hip Hop, and Entrepreneur and billionaire Mark Cuban’s panel, “Exploring Entrepreneurial Roots” moderated by associate Ansley Carlisle and investor Haywood Perry, both of Mark Cuban Companies.

In Wednesday’s official closing ceremony, DeBaun and Simone White, Senior Vice President of Revenue at Blavity, Inc. discussed the journey to making the conference a reality over the years, and eluded to the potential for international expansion to countries such as the U.K., Ghana or Nigeria. If there’s one thing for certain, attendance at AfroTech and immersion into its hot-bed for advancement should be a high priority for any Black professional seeking to elevate in their career or get in front of investors, and any corporation looking to create genuine rapport and a pipeline to the fastest-growing and highly-skilled population of diverse technology talent.

Featured Image: Morgan DeBaun, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Blavity Inc

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Tags: afrotech, Amazon, Austin, Beyoncé, BIA, black panther, blavity, Chamillionaire, Cuff It, Events, investors, Mark Cuban, morgan debaun, Swag Surfin', technology, Warner Bros. Records, Zaytoven

About the Author

Crystal Willis Crystal Willis is an Entrepreneur, Author, Speaker, Entertainment Publicist and CEO of The Omni Firm. She is also a Transformational Life Coach and Founder of The Crysalis. Her personal story has been seen by millions of people on media outlets like Marie Claire Magazine, PBS, Blaze TV, Daily Signal and more.