Ashleigh Ainsley
Ashleigh Ainsley MBE FRSA is a British technologist, entrepreneur, and diversity advocate. He is best known as the co-founder of Colorintech, a non-profit organisation working to improve access and opportunities for ethnic minorities in the technology industry. He was awarded a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2025 for his services to technology.[1]
Early life and education
Ainsley grew up in Lewisham, south-east London, one of the city's most ethnically diverse boroughs, where he attended state school.[2] He studied Geography at St Catherine's College, University of Oxford, from 2011 to 2014.[3] Ainsley has spoken about the contrast between growing up in the diversity of Lewisham and arriving at Oxford, describing the experience of entering an environment that felt significantly less diverse.[2] He secured an internship at Google during his studies, and later reflected that the tech industry "felt more like Oxford than Lewisham."[4] He remains an active part of the Oxford community through his involvement with the Oxford Black Alumni network.[3]
Career
Early career
After graduating, Ainsley began his career in the technology sector, working in strategy at Google, before joining London start-up Qubit as a Senior Strategist, during a period in which the company raised over £70 million in venture funding.[3] He later moved to KPMG before joining Founders Intelligence, the innovation consultancy founded by entrepreneur Brent Hoberman, where he worked on strategy and innovation projects for clients including Unilever, Meta, and Fannie Mae.[5]
Colorintech
In 2016, Ainsley co-founded Colorintech alongside venture capitalist Dion McKenzie.[6] The organisation is a non-profit aimed at improving access, awareness, and career opportunities for ethnic minorities in the UK and European technology industry, motivated in part by research showing that Black workers account for less than three per cent of the UK tech workforce.[7]
Colorintech has developed partnerships with major technology companies including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Apple, JPMorgan Chase, and Bloomberg.[8] The organisation received a grant of over $250,000 from Google.org, which at the time was reported to be the largest such grant outside of North America.[9] The organisation has raised over £1 million in scholarships to support ethnic minorities learning to code, and its community has grown to over 25,000 people across the UK and Europe.[9] More than 5,000 individuals have graduated from its programmes.[2] Colorintech has also partnered with the UK government's Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), connecting underrepresented candidates with digital careers in the Civil Service.[10]
Black Tech Fest
In 2020, Ainsley established Black Tech Fest (BTF), an annual festival held during Black History Month in the UK. It was initially launched as a virtual event in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, co-founded with Informa Tech, the organisers of London Tech Week.[11] By 2022, the event had moved to an in-person format at Magazine London and drew over 10,000 attendees, with speakers including Steven Bartlett, Michelle Williams, and Anton Ferdinand.[7] By 2025, Black Tech Fest had grown to host 7,000 in-person attendees at London's Drumsheds, with over 150 speakers, and has been described as the largest gathering of Black professionals in technology in Europe.[12]
Advisory and policy work
Ainsley has advised a number of UK government departments, including the Ministry of Defence, the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), and the Cabinet Office at Downing Street.[5] He has also been selected as a policy adviser for the World Economic Forum.[13] He serves on the Strategic Advisory Board of City, University of London, and has served as a guest lecturer on Global Business Strategy at De Montfort University.[5]
He founded B4 Collective, a strategic communications consultancy.
Recognition
Ainsley has received the following awards and honours:
- MBE – awarded in 2025 for services to Technology[5]
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA) – elected in July 2017[5]
- Forbes 30 Under 30 – listed in the Europe Social Entrepreneurs category in 2020[14]
- Politico Tech influencer list – named one of the most influential people in UK tech in 2023[15][16]
- FT UK Top 100 BAME Technology Leaders[6]
- BBC 1Xtra Rising Stars (2022)[16]
- Tech London Advocates 25 Under 25 (2018)[17]
- BYP Network Trailblazer of the Year[17]
He has been featured in the Financial Times, the Evening Standard, CNBC, and The Times.[5] He was profiled by Oxford University's alumni magazine Quad in 2018.[3]
Personal life
Outside of his professional work, Ainsley is a qualified football referee. He was part of the Charlton FC Referee Academy and in 2013 was selected to officiate at a match hosted by Prince William, then president of the Football Association, at which grassroots volunteers were recognised for their contributions to the sport.[18] He was subsequently promoted to a Level 5 referee by the London FA.[19] He serves as a school governor at a local school and continues to mentor aspiring Oxbridge applicants.[5]
References
- ↑ "About – Ashleigh Ainsley MBE". akainsley.com. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Accountability is the only way to make tech more ethnically diverse". Computing. 24 January 2024. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Whiting, Tabitha (12 December 2018). "Alumni Stories: 'Just 2.6% of Tech Leaders are Ethnic Minorities'". Oxford University Alumni. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "The cost of tech's diversity failure – and how to fix it, with Colorintech founder Ashleigh Ainsley". UK Tech News. 3 October 2023. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 5.6 "About – Ashleigh Ainsley MBE". akainsley.com. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 6.0 6.1 "Black British entrepreneurs find new ways to land funding as diversity efforts are scrapped". CNBC. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Introducing Black Tech Fest 2022 – In-person for the first time ever". The Business Journal. 30 September 2022. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Black Tech Fest 2024: Key Takeaways". Skills and Education Group. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Proud to Be: Ashleigh Ainsley, co-founder of Colorintech". NatWest Business. 19 October 2021. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Building a diverse digital future: how our partnership with Colorintech is inspiring the next generation". UK Government Digital People Blog. 5 December 2025. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "TikTok Becomes Innovation Partner of Black Tech Fest in the UK". Adweek. 6 October 2020. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Black history in the making: the tech trailblazers building the future". The Voice Online. 8 October 2025. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Ashleigh Ainsley – Speaker Profile". Web Summit Rio. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Three Catz Alumni featured in Forbes 30 Under 30". St Catherine's College, University of Oxford. 19 June 2020. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Power List: 20 people who matter in UK tech policy". Politico Europe. 2023. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 "Ashleigh Ainsley – London Tech Week 2022 Speaker". London Tech Week / Informa. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Accolades – Ashleigh Ainsley MBE". akainsley.com. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Referee gets summons to the Palace". Yorkshire Post. 27 September 2013. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help) - ↑ "Referees Going Places". West Surrey FA. 31 March 2017. Retrieved 2025. Check date values in:
|access-date=(help)
External links
Category:Living people
Category:British entrepreneurs
Category:Diversity and inclusion advocates
Category:Alumni of St Catherine's College, Oxford
Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire
Category:Fellows of the Royal Society of Arts
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