A BLACKBURN entrepreneur has joined a partnership aimed at breaking down barriers for black women in the tech industry.

Mo Isap, founder and CEO of the IN4.0 Group, hopes that by partnering with creative organisation Niyo Enterprise he can help the organisation to expand into the North West and create new opportunities for black women, who make up just 0.7 per cent of the women employed in the UK tech industry.

To do this, IN4.0 will be making its MediaCityUK based hub HOST, available to Niyo founder Oyin Adebayo to create a range of educational and training programmes.

Blackburn-born Mr Isap said: “We are proud to be working with Oyin and Niyo Enterprise to offer a range of opportunities and choices to black women in the North West so they can be fully supported throughout their journey into tech careers.

"Whether they are seeking a job in the tech industry, looking to upskill in digital or aspire to be a tech entrepreneur, we want to ensure that there are opportunities available for them here at HOST and across the region."

The organisations say that the aim of supporting black women will be applied across all of HOST’s Skills City academies which will include Black Codhers, a specialist software engineering bootcamp, as well as two Black Disruptor programmes, a data science and project management course for black women and an XR bootcamp focused on building 3D technology skills.

Mr Isap said: “Supporting diversity and inclusion and removing the barriers to entry to the tech sector is at the heart of Skills City.

"Our ambition is to continue to support women who remain largely underrepresented in the tech community, which is why in this exciting new chapter for HOST, we have committed that 50 per cent of all our learners will be women.”

Meanwhile, IN4.0 says it is working closely with employers to ensure that there are learning and employment opportunities available for black women across all of its programmes.

Ms Adebayo said: “We are excited to be working with HOST and the wider Skills City co-operative to ensure that black women are part of pioneering change in the tech industry.

"Our major aim has always been to see as many black women as possible in high impact industries.

"We believe that with this partnership, black women would not just be able to dream but also create and thrive in the tech industry.”

To find out more, go to: https://in40.co.uk/.