Ship2B Ventures has made its first investment in CodeOp, a coding bootcamp aimed at addressing the gender gap in tech by training women and gender minorities.

Meeting CodeOp

Ship2B Ventures has made its inaugural investment in the BSocial Impact Fund by supporting CodeOp, a company founded by Katrina Walker in 2018. Established in Barcelona, CodeOp aims to tackle the significant gender gap in technology teams by offering full-stack coding programs tailored for women, transgender, and gender non-conforming individuals. The company initially provided in-person training but transitioned to an online format in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, thereby increasing both student enrollment and revenue. Having previously raised funds successfully from prominent angel investors, CodeOp was seeking investments to expand its course offerings and geographical reach in early 2021.

Industry Overview

The technology industry worldwide has seen a slow yet consistent progression towards gender equality; however, significant disparities remain, particularly for women in tech. According to the OECD, women constitute only about 30% of the tech labor force across member states, and the percentage drops to a staggering 11% when examining software developers specifically. Particularly concerning is the lack of representation for minority groups such as migrants, women of color, and the transgender and gender non-conforming community.

Despite improvements, societal and structural issues continue to hinder women's entry into technology sectors. Research indicates that young girls often miss out on encouragement and support to explore STEM fields. Even with comparable academic performance, gi