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Northeastern’s Miami campus receives $200K in JPMorganChase support for university’s local entrepreneurship programs

Nancy Dahlberg
Nancy Dahlberg
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By Nancy Dahlberg

According to J.P. Morgan’s recently released Startup Insights report, Miami ranks eighth in the country for early-stage venture deal count – up four spots over the last decade. The market’s median pre-money valuation has doubled over the past five years, from $8.5 million to $17.5 million.

To help keep that growth going by bolstering Miami’s entrepreneurship ecosystem, JPMorganChase has committed $200,000 to support Northeastern University’s Miami Innovation Academy and Next Level X Northeastern programs on the university’s recently opened Miami campus.

The funding will bolster Northeastern’s Miami Innovation Academy (MIA), an eight-week fellowship program for diverse founders at all stages of their entrepreneurial  journeys. The program connects them with leaders from academia, venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, and experienced CEOs, with the goal of helping them accelerate their ventures, and covers topics ranging from going to market to exit strategies. An entrepreneur in the inaugural cohort of 23 MIA fellows – Hannan Parvizian – started a cleantech company, Exowatt, and has raised $20 million in seed funding.

The funding will also help support NextLevel X Northeastern, a day-long workshop on Wednesday that brought together more than 100 diverse, early-stage founders, operators, and small business owners to build their skills and networks in the region.  Northeastern is planning to make NextLevel x Northeastern as an annual event, and is also partnering with eMerge Americas on their upcoming SMB workshops. That’s key because enterprises with fewer than 10 employees represent 93% of all businesses in Miami-Dade County, according to the Beacon Council.

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“JPMC’s support translates into additional resources for our innovation ecosystem including startups and small businesses – and we’re proud to play a role in its continued growth and success. Beyond MIA and NextLevel x Northeastern programs, we will continue to offer entrepreneurship experiential learning opportunities to college students as well as supporting nonprofits in our community focused on developing pathways for diverse, entrepreneurial and tech talent in middle to high school ages providing a continuum of experiences that nurture curiosity and innovation in our future leaders,” said Maria Alonso, CEO and Regional of Northeastern University Miami.

“In Miami-Dade, where more than one in three business owners is Black, Hispanic, or a woman, we recognize the need and opportunity to lift up and support the diverse-owned small business community. This commitment to Northeastern University is about helping business owners  gain access to capital, customers, networks, mentorship, and other essential resources for growth and scaling. We are proud to be a part of Miami and even prouder to play a role in its economic growth and development,” adds John McCourt, Chase’s head of U.S. Business Banking Sales.

Since 2019, JPMorganChase has invested more than $46.4 million in philanthropic capital to local organizations that are advancing inclusive economic growth and making a sustainable impact in local communities. JPMorganChase is also a $10 million anchor supporter of Tech Equity Miami, and earlier this year, Endeavor Miami and Florida Memorial University received grants to further their missions in fueling high-impact entrepreneurship and building an inclusive tech workforce as part of that program.

Founded in 1898, Northeastern University is a global research university with an R1 Carnegie classification. The university, also known as a leader in experiential lifelong learning, opened a campus in Wynwood last year, one of 13 campuses globally. The university has already embedded itself into the community with events and activations such as Wednesday’s NextLevel X Northeastern. This summer, Northeastern’s Miami campus hosted the two-week Kode With Klossy summer camp at its new Miami campus in Wynwood and in November is hosting the Mark Cuban Foundation Artificial Intelligence bootcamp.

Photos here and at the top of this post are of Northeastern University’s recently opened Miami campus in Wynwood. Photos provided by Northeastern University Miami.

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Nancy Dahlberg
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