Tamar Huggins
Canadian tech entrepreneur, author and educator
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Tamar Huggins is a Canadian tech entrepreneur, author and educator.[1][2] She is an advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion in tech education, whose work focuses on the development of the Black tech ecosystem in Canada.[3] Huggins founded DRIVEN Accelerator Group,[4] a tech accelerator for underrepresented founders in Canada. She also founded Tech Spark, a Canadian technology school for Black youth, girls and other youth of colour,[5][6] and created Spark Plug AI.[citation needed]
Tamar Huggins | |
|---|---|
Tamar Huggins in 2025 | |
| Born | Canada |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Website | tamarhuggins.com |
Education
Huggins graduated in 2007 from Centennial College, where she studied creative advertising with a major in media planning.[7]
Career
Huggins pursued entrepreneurship in 2009 after losing her advertising job during the recession.[8] In 2012, she created the first tech accelerator for BIPOC leaders in Canada, called DRIVEN.[2] The accelerator raised $1.1 million for Black, Brown and women-led tech startups in Canada. In 2015, Huggins launched a technology school in Canada focused on BIPOC students, called Tech Spark.[1][9] The school educated 1500 students in the first two years.[10] In 2017, Huggins released her first book, Bossed Up: 100 Truths to Becoming Your Own Boss, God's Way![3] In November 2019, Huggins founded EDUlytics, later rebranded as Spark Plug,[11] a digital tool that uses data, hip hop culture and artificial intelligence to personalize education and inform education policy.[12]
In 2021, Huggins' technology company was awarded $1 million from TD Canada Trust, to scale Spark Plug to 40,000 North American students.[13]
Honours and awards
- Harry Jerome Awards, Young Entrepreneur, 2015[14]
- Canadian Living Magazine, Canadian Superhero, 2015[15]
- CIBWE, 100 Black Women to Watch, 2015[16]
- Canada's Top 150 Black Women Creating Impact Across the Country, CBC and Herstory in Black, 2017[1]
- Move The Dial, Dial Mover, 2019[17]
- The City of Brampton, Innovation Award, 2020
- TD Canada Trust, TD Ready Challenge Winner, 2021[18]
- Centennial College, Alumnus of Distinction, 2021
- Womxn in Data Science Toronto, Trailblazer Award, 2022
ye