Miami will be the first city outside of New Orleans to have a bricks and mortar office for PowerMoves, a national initiative to increase the number of Blacks, who own high-tech, venture-capital backed companies.

PowerMoves will bring its pitch competition, boot camps, networking events and fellowships, as well as provide space for entrepreneurs to grow ideas and collaborate.

Heading up the effort of PowerMoves Miami is Janelle Alexander, a community manager who will work with a team of entrepreneurs-in-residence and mentors to help local entrepreneurs refine their business models and market strategies and connect them with advisers and capital to launch and scale their businesses.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is investing $1.2 million to support the launch of PowerMoves Miami in conjunction with Black Tech Week, which runs from Feb. 14-20. The Knight Foundation is the founding sponsor of Black Tech Week. PowerMoves has helped source talent from across the country to participate in the weeklong series of entrepreneurship events.

“The wealth of talent, experience and innovation that comes with diversity is often lost because minority entrepreneurs do not have the same access to capital and support that is necessary to grow their businesses and develop their ideas,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami. “In Miami we have seen great progress in building an inclusive startup community that is representative of our diversity – but we have to do more. PowerMoves will help establish pathways to opportunity for Black entrepreneurs and others working to make Miami a global innovation hub.”

While Black and Hispanic students earn nearly 20 percent of computer science degrees, they make up only 9 percent of the technology industry and less than 1 percent of technology company founders. To help close the gap, PowerMoves began in 2014 as a hyperlocal program to position New Orleans as a hub for entrepreneurs of color.

Since then, it has rapidly grown to become a national initiative, connecting entrepreneurs of color to mentors, capital, support and investment opportunities. It has helped 100 companies from across the country secure more than $27 million in capital commitments.

“We are excited to establish a strong local presence in Miami, a city with a strong appetite for entrepreneurship and a growing community of innovators,” said Earl Robinson, the CEO of PowerMoves. “This ‘long view’ strategy will enrich the city’s entrepreneurial ecosystem by broadening participation to include typically underrepresented groups, like African-Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. It will also grow the Miami early-stage deal footprint as these entrepreneurs will add compelling businesses to the pool of Miami investment opportunities.”

PowerMoves Miami will host monthly public meetups across the city. In addition, PowerMoves boot camps will include up to six weeks of virtual classroom participation with advisers and entrepreneurs, and include three days of intensive in-person classroom development.

Six high-growth entrepreneurs will be selected to participate in a 12-month PowerMoves Miami fellowship. The fellowship includes free rent at a local co-working space, ongoing mentoring and coaching, connections to potential customers and advisers, investment capital and in-kind legal, marketing and financial services.

For more information, visit powermovesnola.org.

Visit our business directory to view other black owned business in Miami.

Source: 

http://miamitimesonline.com/news/2016/jan/20/powermoves-expand-miami-february-2016/