A Black-owned non-profit organization in Oakland that trains young Black men to become entrepreneurs and technologists has received a $2 million grant from Comcast.

The funding will help The Hidden Genius Project expand to new markets in Atlanta and Chicago, a statement reads.

“Our continued partnership with Comcast NBCUniversal will equip us to engage even more Black youth with the skills, experiences, and networks to find their way into family-sustaining career pathways, including the tech sector,” Brandon Nicholson, Ph.D., chief executive officer of The Hidden Genius Project, said in a statement. “With ample access, our young people regularly realize their potential to pursue meaningful and exciting pathways and subsequently create future opportunities not only for themselves but also their entire community.”

The grant will also support the development of Genius Lab, a new curriculum for young people of colour to gain computer science, software development, and entrepreneurship skills.

The Hidden Genius Project is headquartered in Oakland. Since 2017, The Hidden Genius Project has launched in Richmond, California, Los Angeles, and Detroit. The company was founded in 2012.

The organization aims to put Black professionals and entrepreneurs in tech spaces. It says that Black Americans occupy just seven per cent of the sector’s jobs. Yet they make up 14 per cent of the national population.

The Hidden Genius Project consists of three programs — catalyst programming, an immersive program, and a community partnerships course.

To date, The Hidden Genius Project has served over 9,300 students. The Hidden Genius Project’s program participants have a 98 per cent high school graduation rate, with 95 per cent entering post-secondary education and over 40 per cent of alumni studying computer science or related fields.

Part of a seven-year partnership with Comcast, the announcement coincides with ProjectUP — a $1 billion commitment from the global media and tech company for people of colour.

“As the lack of digital skills continue to be a determinant of future economic opportunity, we must ensure that young Black men have access to the resources and programming that will put them on a path to success in our digital economy,” Dalila Wilson-Scott, executive vice president and chief diversity officer of Comcast Corporation and president of the Comcast NBCUniversal Foundation. “For years, The Hidden Genius Project has proven to be a key partner in helping young people acquire the knowledge and resources needed to ensure long-term upward mobility and create generational change. Comcast is proud to deepen our commitment to help empower these Geniuses and future leaders pave the way to even greater innovation and equity within the tech sector and beyond.”