Ingenious Financial plans to raise $10 billion to provide technology support to underserved communities

Virginia-based Ingenious Financial has announced the ongoing plans of some executives to raise $10 billion to provide more technology support to unbanked and underserved communities.

Founder Darnell Parker and COO Derek Taylor will lead the investment, according to a press release by the company. This decision was made after both executives found that many Black residents across the U.S. do not have access to computer technology in their homes which results in more financial insecurity. Therefore, Parker and Taylor have decided to raise $10 billion through the private Federal Reserve corporation emergency lending program to solve this problem within those communities.

“All relevant policy narratives point towards an inclusive environment,” Taylor said in a press release. “But you cannot have an inclusive environment without African American controlled businesses and ownership.” Taylor added that the time was right to correct the “shameful exclusionary history of disparities and barriers imposed on African Americans” all through American history.

“We’ve got to act boldly, to be better, to not only offer hope to deliver on the promises of financial certainty, economic empowerment, and confidence for African Americans,” he said.

Parker and Taylor plan to disperse the funds across 4 major initiatives:

• $4 billion will be assigned to holding company and financial institution

• $5 billion will be assigned for technology products and broadband services

• $600 million will be allocated to lease training facilities across the country

• $400 million will be used to hire employees for financial literacy education and smartphone training

Taylor said one of the most important contributions that the financial institution can make is to “invest sufficient resources in innovation, technology, and financial literacy.” He added that more support toward this investment opportunity should be made together with Ingenious Financial to “deliver technology products and services to the unbanked and underserved” communities.

A good percentage of African Americans still do not have access to high-speed internet in their homes and the necessary technology products they need to thrive in today’s economy, which can be considered as a human right, according to Taylor.

A report by the Federal Communications Commission’s Eight Broadband Progress showed that “approximately one in three African Americans, 14 million still don’t have access to computer technology in their homes.” Also, “35 percent of black households do not have broadband internet capabilities.” This creates a wide technology gap as many black families are left at a significant technology disadvantage in a technology-driven economy.