Asians in Tech Impact Report Launch at the House of Lords
Diversity UK’s ground-breaking Asians in Tech initiative released its Impact Report on 27th February 2024 at an exclusive House of Lords event, led by long-time supporter Lord Jitesh Gadhia. It marks a decade of achievements, including annually honouring the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech and hosting six Tech Showcases across key cities, fostering connections in the tech community.
Acknowledging a string of accomplishments, the initiative boasts five Chairman’s Award winners, recognition for 121 Asian Tech Pioneers, three Investing in Women Founders debates, two Diversity Tech Summits, and compelling content like the Asian Tech Pioneers video and AI Inclusion Podcast. This milestone reflects the profound impact of Asian talent in the UK tech sector, promising insights into the future of diversity and innovation.
Lord Gadhia, Member of the House of Lords, said on launching the report: “I’ve been pleased to support Asians in Tech since its inception, having been a judge, speaker, and showcase panellist over the years. The turnover of UK tech businesses has increased from $195 billion in 2015 to over $1 trillion last year. The level of venture capital funding underpinning that growth has risen from $6.9 billion to $21.3 billion during the period. But the growth has not been uniformly spread: we know that women founders attracted less than 2% of VC funding last year, and that ethnic minorities often get overlooked, which is why initiatives like Asians in Tech are so important; in showcasing, inspiring, and connecting founders and funders here in the UK and globally. I congratulate Diversity UK for hitting this 10-year milestone despite the global pandemic, economic uncertainties, and funding challenges. Their work is vital in maintaining the momentum created.”
“Launched by Lord Vaizey in 2015, then Minister for the Digital Economy, we are delighted that this year marks the ten-year milestone. Our mission is to improve diversity and inclusion in Britain, and we were pleased to have hosted two Diversity Tech Summits in the past decade to focus the attention of policymakers and the media on the challenges faced by ethnic minority tech entrepreneurs. The sector has not only grown, making the UK the third-largest tech ecosystem in the world and first in Europe, but innovators have focused on the most pressing global challenges; from climate change and health tech to harnessing the power of Generative AI,” said Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK, who has helmed the initiative since its inception.
“In autumn 2023, we commissioned a Cambridge Venture Project team of Executive MBA students from the University of Cambridge Judge Business School to assess the social impact created by the Asians in Tech initiative,” added Lopa Patel MBE, “their findings highlighted that the Asians in Tech initiative inspires, empowers, and connects founders; helping them get funding and support. The CVP team also narrowed their research on the health tech and life sciences sector, with nominees in the sector demonstrating two important positive economic indicators. Firstly, the number of years before a (health tech) start-up receives their first funding has been reducing, and secondly, health tech start-ups have been hiring employees in addition to the original founders. The CVP insights are illuminating in that they show the hard-to-measure impact and correlate it to a sector that is very important for the UK. A feature we hope to build upon for this tenth edition of the Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list.”
Diversity UK Trustee Francesca Jus-Burke added, “This event showcased the impact of Asians in Tech through the Cambridge Judge Business School’s impact report, celebrated Asian in Tech supporters over the past decade, and highlighted the importance of diversity in innovation. I was honoured to have attended and really enjoyed the evening. We look forward to further events in this, our tenth anniversary year for the Asians in Tech initiative.”
Cambridge Venture Project Team
The Cambridge Venture Project is part of the University of Cambridge Judge Business School Executive MBA programme. It is hands-on, part-time engagement based on 5 or 6 MBA students working as a team of consultants in a local business, addressing a specific market need. The Cambridge Venture Project is an ideal opportunity for local organisations with limited resources to benefit from fresh, unbiased and objective market research evaluations. For our students, the CVP is a chance to apply their market analysis skills to a real problem, and to get an insight into “Silicon Fen” and the kind of challenges faced by innovators working in high-risk, high-pressure environments.
The Cambridge Venture Project team that undertook the social impact analysis of the Asians in Tech initiative for Diversity UK comprised Anish Ravindra Amin, Dean Trifanny, Juliet Powell, Kenichiro Kaneko, Supavich Pannara and Xu Han with Professor Jaideep Prabhu, Professor of Marketing and Jawaharlal Nehru Professor of Indian Business at Cambridge University’s Judge Business School acting as mentor to the project.
The CVP Team and Professor Prabhu joined Lord Gadhia and Lopa Patel MBE, Chair of Diversity UK to launch the Asians in Tech Impact Report (see above).
About Asians in Tech
The Asians in Tech initiative was established in 2015 with Lord Vaizey, then the Minister for the Digital Economy launching the first Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list. Successes of the Asians in Tech initiative over the past decade include:
★ 9 Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech lists published;
★ 6 Tech Showcases hosted (Cambridge, London, Manchester);
★ 5 Chairman’s Awards presented;
★ 121 Asian Tech Pioneers recognised;
★ 3 Investing in Women Founders panel debates held;
★ A Queen’s Award for Enterprise in Innovation Masterclass delivered,
★ Asian Tech Pioneers video launched offering expert advice to startup founders
★ AI Inclusion Podcast to explore bias in AI
Diversity UK is proud that the aim of showcasing Asian talent in the tech sector has been realised with founders achieving their investment targets, receiving grant funding, forming new partnerships and recognition in scaling their ventures. The Top 100 Asian Stars in UK Tech list and Asian Tech Pioneers Awards are celebrated in the summer of each year and published online.
