DC Inno by Eric Hal Schwartz

Howard University's long-planned startup incubator becomes a lot more concrete Tuesday morning when Mayor Muriel Bowser officially breaks ground on what is slated to become an 8,000 square-foot home for entrepreneurs and investors. The renovated space in the Wonder Plaza retail center on Georgia Avenue NW is scheduled to open in September and will be run by Luma Lab, a D.C.-based tech education organization owned by software firm Clearly Innovative.

"When I read about it I saw saw it was right in line with what we are trying to do," said Luma Lab and Clearly Innovative CEO Aaron Saunders in an interview with DC Inno. "I'm able to do all of the things I do because of tech, and part of who I am is about giving back."

The "inclusive innovation incubator," as it's described, is specifically designed to encourage minority entrepreneurs businesses targeted at underserved communities. Saunders, who also teaches classes at Howard, said he sees his and Luma Lab's role at the incubator as facilitating connections between those entrepreneurs and the resources they need to succeed.

"One of the biggest challenges for those entrepreneurs is they just don't know anyone in the [VC] space," Saunders said. "They haven't been to anyone there. We need to bring more diverse people to the innovation economy table."

Encouraging inclusion as a way to bolster the tech startup scene in D.C. has been something Mayor Bowser has talked about since her campaign. The incubator is only one of those projects, but the $1 million or so in grants the city is providing to make the incubator come to life gives credence to the idea that it's a project with some priority.

"It's about expanding the District's technology ecosystem," Joaquin McPeek, the director of communications in the Deputy Mayor's Office for Planning & Economic Development, told DC Inno. "And not only growing the District's footprint but making sure we're addressing the needs entrepreneurs and startups that are underserved in the District."

"We need to bring more diverse people to the innovation economy table."

The project hasn't had a straightforward path though. The original announcement a year ago by Mayor Bowser and Howard President Wayne Frederick described an incubator that would be running and full to capacity by the end of 2015, with a six-figure investment by the city. And the focus was on attracting venture capital firms with cheap office space and access to potential investments. Qualifying would mean the VC firms would have to invest in medium-to-late stage D.C. startups and commit to at least three years in the District. It's not clear what changed, but the new concept offers plenty to appeal to local entrepreneurs when it comes to access to capital, Saunders said.

"We'll connect Howard with the tech ecosystem in D.C.," Saunder said. "Venture funds provide a critical thing that's missing. There just aren't a lot of diverse people getting capital to start their company. Losing on social capital means losing on real capital."

"At the end of the day, a lot of it is about access," McPeek said. "We want to make sure we're creating an atmosphere to allow access and leverage venture capital."

Saunders said that the meetings and document drafting for a venture fund run by the incubator have already begun, though he couldn't put a dollar amount on what they're aiming for. He would only say it will be as large as possible because of how necessary funding is for any kind of startup success.

"A VC fund is a when not an if," Saunders said. "Without funding,' it's just another co-working space. We're building something that D.C., Howard, everyone involved can be proud of."