Around 30% of Buffalo residents live in poverty and the majority are nonwhite, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Fewer than 29% of city residents have a college degree and the median income is less than $40,000 a year.
Diversity-focused technology training firm Bitwise coming to Buffalo | Local News
The company recognized the potential in Buffalo to build up the workforce and "give opportunity to folks that have been left behind," said Tammi Sherman, vice president of Bitwise Toledo. Though she's based in Ohio, Sherman was part of the team that worked on setting up Bitwise's operations in Buffalo.
"I think the biggest impact is on the lives of the people," she said. "Being able to create a path free of barriers to the tech world."
For the businesses, Bitwise's expansion to Buffalo will make it easier to hire a diverse tech workforce, something Reich struggled with when he founded Campus Labs, now Anthology, in the early 2000s.
"Business leaders need to have a representative workforce in order to create products that are usable to the general population," Reich said.
Leaders in the region's tech and startup space have worked in recent years to create accessible training opportunities for tech workers through initiatives like TechBuffalo and M&T Bank's Tech Academy. Both organizations seek to connect Buffalo's underserved populations with technology training.
Gloss