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UrbanGeekz is a first-to-market tech blog that covers content from a diverse and multicultural perspective. The groundbreaking videocentric multimedia platform covers technology, business, science, and startups. Our mission is to make tech ‘cool’ and accessible while highlighting business, entrepreneurship, and STEM-related fields as exciting and rewarding career paths, especially for women and underrepresented groups.
6 Black European Investors Backing Diverse Startups
Across Europe, Black founders continue to face steep barriers to venture funding. A recent Google for Startups report highlights the scale of the challenge, pointing to persistent gaps in access to capital for Black-led businesses.
The stark gap underscores how little capital Black founders in Europe receive, as systemic barriers and a lack of diverse venture capital firms continue to limit access to funding.
Despite this, a growing number of Black investors are emerging across Europe—backing founders, opening doors, and building pathways for the next generation. One such investor is Christina Caljé. The founder-turned-investor has seen firsthand the challenges diverse founders face and is now working to persuade Amsterdam-based investors to back them.
Selection from the article:
In an exclusive interview with UrbanGeekz, Christina revealed her motivation for championing investment in diverse founders.
“My inspiration to fund diverse founders is partly personal. Still, it’s also practical: the most consequential technologies of the next decade are going to be built for the full spectrum of society….we need to fund companies that are as diverse as the societies they’re meant to serve — at the founder, leadership, and operator level.”
Born and raised in New York City, Christina Caljé is an accomplished entrepreneur, angel investor, and advocate for diversity in Tech. With a background as an Executive Director at Goldman Sachs, she transitioned to the startup world and co-founded Autheos. This AI-driven video marketing technology platform was acquired in 2021.She has since shifted her focus from building companies to shaping the startup ecosystem, particularly by supporting underrepresented founders, especially women and founders of color. Caljé is an advisor at Curiosity VC, where she supports early-stage AI-driven B2B software companies in Europe. She also co-founded the Impact Investor Group and mentors startups through various accelerator programs.
Through her firm TINTT (Too Important Not To Try), the Netherlands-based investor advises leaders in venture funds, corporates, governments, and academic institutions on navigating strategic and ethical trade-offs in frontier innovation. She serves in advisory, board, and investment committee roles, bringing an operator’s perspective to complex, high-stakes decision-making.
Alongside Caljé, we curated a list spotlighting Black European investors who support diverse startups.
