New Funding Expands Tech Access to South Side Entrepreneurs at the Polsky Exchange

Published on Wednesday, May 31, 2023

The Polsky Exchange is a 34,000-square-foot startup incubator featuring work and meeting spaces, a Fabrication Lab for prototyping physical products, and a full calendar of programming and workshops designed to help entrepreneurs launch and grow their ventures.

As part of the Polsky Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Chicago, the Polsky Exchange leads the Chicago Tech Equity Desk – connecting South Side entrepreneurs with the tools they need to grow their businesses.

The initiative is backed by GET (Gender Equality in Tech) Cities and supported by their Tech Equity Working Group (TEWG), which was organized in 2021 with the goal of increasing BIPOC and gender diversity in entrepreneurship in Chicago.

The TEWG today announced that it is deploying $1 million to scale five successful pilot programs, including the Chicago Tech Equity Desk at the Polsky Exchange.

With additional support from Verizon, this year’s initiative consists of two parts: the E-Commerce Learning Lab, which brings e-commerce training and fulfillment support to 20 products-based businesses through 37 Oaks, and the Web Dev Shop, which will supply 12 businesses a grant for upgraded web services, web design, and digital storytelling through contracts with diverse tech vendors.

Click here to read the full article.