Southeast Shoutouts | Newsworthy item from four states
Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte opened its eHub, which will equip the school's PNC Fellows — a rotating cohort of student entrepreneurs — with the technology, seed funding, and mentorship needed to help scale their maturing or existing businesses.
From Charlotte:
Charlotte Inno reports that aspiring entrepreneurs at Johnson C. Smith University after the school opened an eHub that will equip the school’s PNC Fellows — a rotating cohort of student entrepreneurs — with the technology, seed funding and mentorship needed to help scale their maturing or existing businesses. The incubator space was made possible through a $375,000, multiyear grant from the PNC Foundation, a nonprofit arm of PNC Financial Services Group Inc. That funding was announced in February 2022 as part of PNC’s pledge to provide nearly $20 million to strengthen historically Black colleges and universities across North Carolina, Missouri, and Delaware.
From Durham:
As part of its ongoing climate commitment, Duke University is joining a public/private partnership to build and operate an international center for climate research and teaching on Governors Island in New York Harbor. According to this article from WRAL TechWire, the new 400,000-square-foot facility named the New York Climate Exchange is led by Stony Brook University. Duke is joining with Georgia Tech University, the University of Washington, the Pratt Institute, Pace University, and IBM, to address the social and practical challenges created by climate change — including new technologies that could become commercially viable responses to the global climate crisis. It is described as a $700 million initiative.
From Atlanta:
Atlanta Inno reports that Kian Capital Partners, which focuses on middle-market companies, closed a $400 million fund, almost twice the size of its second fund, which closed in 2018. The firm invests primarily in four sectors: consumer, services, value-added distribution, and specialty manufacturing. The firm has $825 million in capital under management and 15 current investments, making it the ninth-largest private equity firm in Atlanta.
From Birmingham:
Endeavor, an entrepreneurship-focused nonprofit that expanded into the city three years ago, has issued a report touting its economic impact. The organization supported 29 entrepreneurs from 15 high-growth companies, facilitated nearly 500 hours of mentoring, introduced founders to dozens of professional equity investors, and connected companies in more than 15 countries. Those start-ups raised $177 million in capital, created 565 jobs, and produced $77.5 million in annual revenue. The report can be found here.
From Miami:
- Miami Inno reports that the Miami Marlins are bringing coding boot camps to the baseball park. The Major League Baseball (MLB) team aims to help locals train for careers in technology through a new partnership with Ironhack, a Spain-based company that offers nine-week boot camp training sessions in web development, data analytics, and UX/UI design. In March, the company chose tee Marlins’ home LoanDepot Park as the site of its flagship U.S. campus. The partnership, the first of its kind in the MLB, will introduce Ironhack’s training programs to the broader community of Miami residents, said Chief People Officer and General Counsel Karina DuQuesne.
- Endeavor Miami is accepting applications for the next cohort of its EndeavorLAB program which offers training and mentorship to underrepresented start-up founders in Florida. The upcoming cohort will focus on women entrepreneurs who lead businesses that generate between $50,000 and $500,000 in annual revenue. Applications are due May 21.
From Tampa:
There’s a new leader at Synapse Florida, best known for its flagship “Synapse Summit” held in February. Lauren Prager, who previously served as the nonprofit’s Chief Strategy Officer, is now the Chief Executive Officer as of May 1.
