Optimistic Outlooks on D&I, Investment and Government Policy
This week, the
CommsCo team attended
London Tech Week. Not only was it a great chance to hear from some inspiring innovators, network with journalists and founders, it gave us plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future of the technology sector.
UK’s Tech Landscape
Rishi Sunak kicked off proceedings with a speech about the state of the UK tech landscape. He outlined processes which will see the government back global talent to succeed. With two year visas for tech challengers to explore, create and innovate.
While innovation has slowed since the financial crisis, he said that combining capital, people and ideas will be the key to forging future success for all.
Digital Equality
When it came to digital equality, Jacqueline de Rojas, President at TechUK, and Julia Lopez MP had some interesting thoughts to share around the cost of living crisis. While many of us take things like online banking for granted, the gap is widening and creating tech poverty in some cases.
Minister Lopez outlined measures to help tackle this, including the DCMS Future Data Plan. The key message was that we should think ‘digital first, not just digital only’ to make sure that no one is left behind.
Tech Inclusivity
Tech inclusivity was also echoed in the EQL:HER panel around investment into female founded scaleup companies and breaking the biases attached. A topic that we’re particularly passionate about, working with female-founded companies including
Navenio and
Weaver Labs.
New JP Morgan research has outlined that by 2026, 40% of corporate directors should be female. But how do we take measures to incite this change? According to the panel, the stakes are highest at the beginning of the founder journey and women shouldn’t be afraid to ask for help when it comes to things like improving financial literacy.
How to create an inclusive company culture was another interesting panel discussion, highlighting the new ways of leading. Karima-Catherine Goundiam, Founder of B2BeeMatch, explained that diversity and inclusion should not just be a tickbox for companies. It should be focused on the impact it can add to a company. This involves hiring a diverse group of talent with a wide range of useful skills and knowledge, and trying to cut out
unconscious bias.
Addressing the Climate Emergency
We know that the climate debate is at the top of
business agendas, making climate tech a key topic in the technology arena. London Tech Week explored how innovation has the potential to mediate our access to renewable energy sources, particularly in the shadow of the Ukrainian conflict.
Damian Kimmmelman, Founder of Batelle, posed the need for more centralisation. While top down approaches to the energy crisis have been critised, more investment into existing technologies – such as nuclear energy – offer a feasible and cost competitive way to close the energy gap, without having to over spend on ambiguous technologies (with limited proven capabilities). Startups and scaleups need equal collaboration with corporates to prioritise new climate technology and deliver a fresh approach to decarbonising the grid.
The Great Resignation and Talent Shortage
The great resignation has been a hot topic in recent months, but how can business leaders survive the tech talent shortage? A panel of industry experts (including Gori Yahaya, CEO of UpSkill Digital and Anna Thomas, Co-Founder and Director of the Institute of The Future of Work) discussed the recent shift in learning and development.
The panel highlighted the importance of evaluation and creation, a practice which is often overlooked. Instead of focusing purely on upskilling, business leaders should ensure employees know how to evaluate their work in order to improve and innovate. This knowledge will empower employees and improve retention.
Trust in Leadership
The Future of Work Summit also covered the concept of building trust in your leadership. Hilary Sutcliffe, Director at SocietyInsider, explained that trust is often inspired by having a common goal. A purpose driven organisation can make a big difference when it comes to employees trusting their company leadership or not. This includes having a positive brand culture and giving all of your employees a voice.
As outlined by Dr. Ali Parsa, CEO at Babylon, “there’s no better time to be an entrepreneur than today, we now have the tools for a better world.”
If you’re a tech challenger thinking about how to raise your profile, get in touch at
hello@thecommsco.com.
