Founder of DRIVEN Accelerator
Founder of Tech Spark AI
Website
tamarhuggins.com
Tamar Huggins (born January 7, 1986)[1] is a Canadian tech entrepreneur, author and educator, based in
Toronto.[2][3] She is a trailblazer for
diversity, equity, and inclusion in tech education and pioneered the development of the Black tech ecosystem in Canada.[4] Huggins founded DRIVEN Accelerator Group,[5] the first tech accelerator for underrepresented founders in Canada. She also founded Tech Spark, Canada's first technology school for Black youth, girls and other youth of colour.
Career
Huggins pursued entrepreneurship in 2009 after losing her advertising job during the recession.[6] In 2012, she created the first tech accelerator for
BIPOC leaders in Canada, called DRIVEN.[3] The accelerator raised $1.1 million for Black, Brown and women-led tech startups in Canada. In 2015, Huggins launched Canada's first technology school focused on BIPOC students, called Tech Spark.[2][7] The school educated 1500 students in the first two years.[8] In 2017, Huggins released her first book, Bossed Up: 100 Truths to Becoming Your Own Boss, God's Way![4] In November 2019, Huggins founded EDUlytics, later rebranded as Spark Plug,[9] a digital tool that uses data, hip hop culture and
artificial intelligence to personalize education and inform education policy.[10]
In 2021, Huggins' technology company was awarded $1 million from
TD Canada Trust, to scale Spark Plug to 40,000 North American students.[11] This investment made Huggins the first woman in North America to lead the development of an
EdTech platform with the use of
AI, Hip Hop culture and
data science.[9]
Education
Huggins graduated in 2007 from
Centennial College, and studied creative advertising with a major in media planning.[12]
Filmography
Year
Title
Role
Notes
2018
When I Grow Up!
Herself
Episode: "Technology Educator/Building Apps with Tamar Huggins"
Personal life
Huggins is of Jamaican and Kittian descent and Nigerian ancestry. She was born in
Etobicoke and grew up in
Brampton, Ontario. She is the youngest of eight children.