“I once heard a quote that said a lot of us get forced into entrepreneurship. And I feel like that’s what happened to me … I always knew I was going to be an entrepreneur. I just didn’t know when.”
Christele Parham is a tech entrepreneur at heart – but interestingly enough, her passion for tech originated with childhood trips to the pediatrician, where she could marvel at all the medical tools.
She developed a fondness for visiting the doctor’s office in her home city of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which initially led to a desire to become a pediatrician herself.
Medicine also runs in Christele’s family—her grandfather was a physician – but over time, she realized that becoming a doctor wasn’t ultimately what she wanted. What she craved was to simply help people.
Decades later, that desire to help evolved into the development of Macon Black Tech, one of the only incubation spaces for Black innovators based in Central Georgia.
“It became important for me to create safe spaces for people that look like me.”
After attending college in South Florida, Christele moved to Macon with her husband, Ariane, and in 2012, the two launched HamTECH Solutions, a cybersecurity company focused on medical facilities. Christele and Ariane spent the next few years building HamTECH Solutions into a thriving business – but not without struggle – and not without guidance from other successful Black tech entrepreneurs.
Early on, the couple managed to find support by connecting with other ecosystem builders in Atlanta and South Florida, but over time they recognized the need to cultivate their own ecosystem right at home in Macon — a city with its own rich culture, and a population that was over 54 percent Black.
In Haiti and Florida, Christele had experienced a sense of “creative safety” and freedom that stemmed from being supported by a community of people who understood each other culturally. So in Macon, “it became important [to create safe spaces] for people that look like me.”
Launched in 2019, Macon Black Tech is a sanctuary where Black people can feel free to express themselves – but more importantly, feel liberated enough to create and dream up long-term solutions for community advancement.
“People never thought Macon was sexy enough.”
With inclusivity in mind, Christele and Ariane are very intentional about ensuring that Macon Black Tech is welcoming to Black people from all backgrounds and professions.
For example, the youngest member is 22 years old, while the oldest is in their early 60s. There are members who work in tech for a living, but also people who have established careers in completely different industries, such as one member who is a physician.
It’s this kaleidoscope of experiences, expertise, and creativity that Christele believes has made Macon Black Tech’s programs impactful in very tangible ways. One such program is MaconThon, a three-month “accelerator-infused hackathon” that puts tech-curious people of color together to build platforms to help the local community.
Through MaconThon, cohorts of innovators have developed meaningful local initiatives with partners like the Knight Foundation and the City of Macon.
“No one’s ever done this locally before in the middle Georgia area. So it has challenged local people to tap into the creative market to think, to solve local problems … and that right there is a win.”
Additionally, as the MaconThoners are developing their products for demo day, they also get mentorship and resources from tech giants like Google and Microsoft.
That’s another win according to Christele, as Macon Black Tech is helping put her city and its Black entrepreneurs on the radar of influential business leaders and some of the world’s most innovative companies. “We were always asking people to come to Macon and they never thought [it] was sexy enough.”
And while Macon Black Tech is still young (and buzz around her city is still growing), Christele has faith that the team will continue to help build an ecosystem that makes Macon a true hub for tech, creativity and Black liberation through entrepreneurship.
Find out more about Macon’s growing tech ecosystem at maconblacktech.com.
