How Philly’s Commerce Department works to position the city on the world tech stage

As more national and global events come to Philly, stakeholders are using the opportunity to solidify the city’s place in the worldwide tech ecosystem.

The city itself plays a big role, said Tempest Carter, director of strategic technology initiatives for the Philadelphia Department of Commerce. On Technical.ly Speaking, a monthly segment on WURD Radio’s “Reality Check,” hosted by Tonya Pendleton, she shouted out the Startup World Cup.

Last month, Philadelphia joined the ranks of cities hosting regional events for the global pitch competition, joining Hong Kong, Brazil, London and New York. 

“We were able to platform incredible tech businesses, many of which were Black or brown businesses,” Carter said on the show. “I felt like making sure that we were platforming ourselves … helps to attract even more private investment.”

In her role with the city, Carter said, she’s largely responsible for attracting and retaining tech and innovation businesses into the City of Philadelphia on behalf of the Commerce Department. So it made sense for the department to participate in the recent competition. 

More generally, Carter aims to spotlight how Philadelphia’s tech scene comes from all backgrounds. Diversity of founders, business types and more all stand out, she said. 

“You can find anything in Philadelphia, from the tech lens, from SaaS …  to drones to even robots,” she said. “We want to make sure that they’re able to grow, stay and hire here and make sure they’re hiring from our communities.”

Philly’s has proven status in the startup world, she added — the city ranks in No. 25 on the annual Global Startup Ecosystem Report from Startup Genome — it just needs to make sure other regions know it, too. 

By tapping new generations with STEM education early, the city hopes to keep growing its startup ecosystem, according to Carter.

“We do need to start this in elementary and high school,” Carter said. “We need to make sure … that we’re strengthening our math and our science skills.”