Tamar Huggins
Tamar Huggins | |
|---|---|
 Tamar Huggins in 2025 | |
| Born | |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Known for | Founder of DRIVEN Accelerator Founder of Tech Spark AI |
| Website | tamarhuggins.com |
Tamar Huggins is a Canadian tech entrepreneur, author and educator, based in Toronto.[1][2] She is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in tech education, whose work focuses on the development of the Black tech ecosystem in Canada.[3] Huggins founded DRIVEN Accelerator Group,[4] a tech accelerator for underrepresented founders in Canada. She also founded Tech Spark, a Canadian technology school for Black youth, girls and other youth of colour.[5][6]
Early life and education
[edit]Huggins was born in Etobicoke and grew up in Brampton, Ontario as the youngest of eight children. She is of Jamaican and Kittian descent and Nigerian ancestry.[citation needed] She graduated in 2007 from Centennial College, where she studied creative advertising with a major in media planning.[7]
Career
[edit]Huggins pursued entrepreneurship in 2009 after losing her advertising job during the recession.[8] In 2012, she created the first tech accelerator for BIPOC leaders in Canada, called DRIVEN.[2] The accelerator raised $1.1 million for Black, Brown and women-led tech startups in Canada. In 2015, Huggins launched a technology school in Canada focused on BIPOC students, called Tech Spark.[1][9] The school educated 1500 students in the first two years.[10] In 2017, Huggins released her first book, Bossed Up: 100 Truths to Becoming Your Own Boss, God's Way![3] In November 2019, Huggins founded EDUlytics, later rebranded as Spark Plug,[11] a digital tool that uses data, hip hop culture and artificial intelligence to personalize education and inform education policy.[12]
In 2021, Huggins' technology company was awarded $1 million from TD Canada Trust, to scale Spark Plug to 40,000 North American students.[13]
Honours and awards
[edit]- Harry Jerome Awards, Young Entrepreneur, 2015[14]
- Canadian Living Magazine, Canadian Superhero, 2015[15]
- CIBWE, 100 Black Women to Watch, 2015[16]
- Canada's Top 150 Black Women Creating Impact Across the Country, CBC and Herstory in Black, 2017[1]
- Move The Dial, Dial Mover, 2019[17]
- The City of Brampton, Innovation Award, 2020
- TD Canada Trust, TD Ready Challenge Winner, 2021[18]
- Centennial College, Alumnus of Distinction, 2021
- Womxn in Data Science Toronto, Trailblazer Award, 2022
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Rebels and rocket scientists: Ten Canadian women who blazed a trail in STEM". The Toronto Star. 2020-02-11. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ a b Thompson, Wanna (2021-05-25). "Black tech founders to watch in 2021". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ a b "Meet Tamar Huggins Grant: Entrepreneur, Author and Tech Trailblazer". Robertson College. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
- ^ Evans, Mark (2012-04-23). "Digital startup accelerator targets minorities, women". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- ^ Jackson, Stacy (2023-11-21). "Mom, Daughter Raise $1.4M For AI Product That Changes Literature To AAVE". Black Enterprise. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ Okine, Dollita (2023-11-17). "13-year-old developing ChatGPT alternative for Black Gen Zers with her mom after raising $1.4M". Face2Face Africa. Retrieved 2025-03-04.
- ^ "Centennial College - Advertising Grad Tamar Huggins Talks Social Entrepreneurship & Her Company Tech Spark | School of Communications, Media, Arts and Design Blog". www.centennialcollege.ca. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
- ^ "This Woman Is on a Mission to Increase the Number of Women and Minorities in STEM". Black Enterprise. 2017-07-05. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ "TVO | Current affairs, documentaries and education". www.tvo.org. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
- ^ "Tamar Huggins". Black on Track. 2022-02-27. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ "Two Black-lead charities get $1.75 million support from TD Bank". The Caribbean Camera. 2022-02-11. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ "Tech Education for the Next Generation". DISRUPTION MAGAZINE. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ https://ca.style.yahoo.com/first-black-woman-raise-1-141300343.html
- ^ "Tamar Huggins among 15 Harry Jerome award winners". CBC News. April 24, 2015. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
- ^ "Tamar Huggins Grant Superpower Increasing Educational And Economic Opportunities For Youth In Underserved Communities". Canadian Living. 1 Mar 2016. Archived from the original on July 25, 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-16 – via PressReader.
- ^ "Meet Tamar Huggins Grant: Entrepreneur, Author and Tech Trailblazer". Robertson College. 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ "#DialMovers Part 4". #movethedial. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 2022-07-25.[dead link]
- ^ "Meet the 2021 TD Ready Challenge grant recipients". stories.td.com. Retrieved 2022-07-25.