Why Plugging Into Tech Equals Business Opportunities

Technology is today’s opportunity machine.

That was the conclusion of participants of a recent technology forum held during our 18^th Annual Black Enterprise/Pepsi Golf & Tennis Challenge at the Doral Golf Resort & Spa in Miami.  Although the event offered attendees competition on links and courts, rejuvenation of body and soul in the spa and networking on the grounds, it also served as a venue for some serious tech talk.

As the US Labor Department unveiled its dismal report revealing an unemployment rate stubbornly stuck at 9.1% and zero job growth, a cadre of business leaders, entrepreneurs, public policy experts and celebrities sought new ways to develop employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for African Americans.  I participated in a roundtable discussion sponsored by AT&T, “Broadband, Economic Development and Jobs,” that included former Congressman Kendrick Meek, director Robert Townsend, actor Jeffrey Wright, Minority Media and Telecommunication Counsel President David Honig and political commentator Jamal Simmons, among others. The session moderator was broadcast journalist Jeff Johnson who peppered the group with a series of questions that included how tech can impact job creation, entrepreneurship, content development, healthcare and STEM (science, technology, education and math). As we grappled with these wide-ranging issues, Meek, editorial board chairman for the Website Politic365, asserted:  “To find solutions, we must have a first base, second base and home plate conversation.”

In order to narrow the current employment gap–16.7% for African Americans compared to 8% for Whites–we must address the issue on multiple fronts: The tech industry realizing value of cultivating and maintaining a diverse workforce; educational institutions implementing expansive education and retraining programs; and the federal government pushing for the FCC’s year-old National Broadband Plan designed to “ensure every American has access to broadband capability.”

Our roundtable participants spent much of the three-hour session focused on an area repeatedly discussed by President Obama, former President Bill Clinton and leading economists:  the “skills gap” of workers ill-equipped for today’s job market. In fact, Clinton said at his recent jobs conference in Chicago that “there are more than three million posted job openings today. Those jobs are being filled at only half the pace they were filled in previous recession. So just think about it: If we have three million more people working, unemployment would be more than two points lower than it is, and America would be in a very different place psychologically.”

At the session, Honig stressed this chasm proved to be an even greater challenge for minorities. According to MMTC, African Americans represent just 7.1% of computer and math workers versus 70.3% for their White counterparts. And minority tech firms continue to lag in gaining access to capital.

He also maintained the US Department of Justice’s lawsuit to stop AT&T’s proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile USA could further hinder employment and entrepreneurial

opportunities. DOJ officials claim that “unless this merger is blocked, competition and innovation will be reduced and consumers will suffer.” Honig says he was “shocked” by the action. Ironically, announcement of the suit was made as AT&T unveiled its plan to bring back to the U.S. 5,000 wireless call center jobs currently outsourced overseas. Last Friday, the telecom filed a “formal response” stating that the acquisition would not diminish competition but provide consumers with better cell phone service at lower prices. (Due to legal reasons, AT&T representatives could not comment of the lawsuit.)

Click here to continue reading…

Months back, MMTC, along with the NAACP, AFL-CIO, Communications Workers of America, League of United Latin American Citizens and the Sierra Club, put its full weight behind supporting the proposed merger. In comments presented to the FCC, Honig stressed his organization took this unprecedented action because it can benefit minority consumers by “alleviating the spectrum crunch and narrowing the digital divide”; minority telecom workers by bolstering AT&T’s diversity hiring practices; and minority broadband entrepreneurs since AT&T is an industry leader in procurement. The company was also seeking to include more minority entrepreneurs in spectrum auctions in which licenses are sold to enable operators to transmit signals. AT&T is one of BLACK ENTERPRISE‘s 40 Best Companies for Diversity.

Simmons, co-chairman of the Internet Innovation Alliance, a broad-based coalition that promotes expansion of broadband availability and mobile

connectivity, maintained that expanding minorities’ connection to the Internet would be consistent with the goals held by President Obama and the FCC to ensure full deployment of the next-generation (4G) mobile broadband networks across the nation to increase “continued economic prosperity and individual empowerment.”

Beside reviewing issues related to the merger, panelists also dealt with the paradox of the growing cell phone and Internet usage by African Americans but failure of that participation to be used for commercial benefit.

So what were proposed solutions to reverse the trend? Here are some of the  recommendations:

• Use the Internet as a tool for entrepreneurship. Jamal Simmons says Black business owners must tap into the power of the Internet as a means of product distribution.  In fact, he says entrepreneurs can transform brick-and-mortar operations into “digital storefronts.” He points to the example of Shane & Shawn, whose founders of the shoe manufacturer appeared on the cover of the January 2007 issue of BLACK ENTERPRISE. The company has generated more Web-based revenue than sales from their store in downtown New York. “Now they have found great success by moving their entire operation to the Internet,” he says. Other retailers should  follow suit.
• Develop innovative content to educate consumers. Paul McRae, vice president of public sector and healthcare for AT&T, says expansion of broadband access can prove invaluable in providing “E-healthcare information and services.” The same approach can be applied to employment retraining and business development.
• Robert Townsend believes content can serve as an empowerment vehicle in the digital medium: “We can use entertainment as a driver. Celebrity is sexy.”  In partnership with One Economy Corp., a non-profit advocating broadband expansion and tech training in  low-income communities, the veteran director produced the online drama, Diary of a Single Mom. The program, which reaches 700,000 users and features stars like Monica Calhoun, Richard Roundtree and Billy Dee Williams, deals with topics such as diabetes treatment, credit management and housing. As characters tackle these issues, viewers can access real-time, Web-based information and resources.
• Create partnerships to expand pipeline. Roundtable members agreed partnerships among business, government, academia and entertainment will be needed to move the needle. For instance, Ava Parker, chairman of Board of Governors for the State University of Florida, says educational institutions can facilitate creation of the pipeline of workers and business owners through STEM education and tech retraining programs. In fact, Parker, AT&T representatives and I seek to have HBCUs and their alumni networks play a large role in this initiative.

The aforementioned represent a few strategies from this productive session. Now, we must hold follow up conversations with our roundtable as well as groups like Black Innovation and Competitiveness Initiative, which I have written about in previous Power Moves blogs.

We must use technology as our great equalizer.