Black in Berlin: Group seeks more diversity in tech industry

BERLIN (AP) — The beginning of 2019 is when Kave Bulambo really started to wonder: Where are all the Black software engineers in Berlin?

Bulambo, who grew up in South Africa and moved to Germany's capital in 2013, hires people to work at Berlin technology companies and start-ups. In time, she realized she had hired only one Black engineer.

She put out an announcement, inviting Black tech professionals to get in touch. To Bulambo's surprise, more than 600 responded in the first month. A loose-knit group, Black in Tech Berlin, was born to provide career support and networking opportunities for skilled workers underrepresented in the city's technology industry.

“We’re here. Black professionals are there in tech. And it is such a great feeling to know that,” Bulambo said, sitting in a conference room at a co-working building near Berlin's central Potsdamer Platz square.

Before the coronavirus pandemic hit Europe, Black in Tech Berlin met once a month. These days, the group holds virtual meetings online.

Berlin is considered one of Europe's main hot spots for technology companies and start-ups. Firms such as online bank N26, menstrual cycle-tracking app Clue and travel guide company Get Your Guide are headquartered in the capital.

But just like in other tech hubs, the founders, executives and employees of Berlin's technology companies are overwhelmingly white.

“And that is not only when it comes to workers and employees. It starts really from the top, when you think of investors, when you think about board members,” Bulambo said.

According to a 2019 report by London-based venture capital firm Atomico, 84% of 1,200 technology company founders polled in Europe self-identified as white and 0.9% identified themselves as Black.

The members of Black in Tech Berlin...