MIAMI – April 14, 2016 – Idea.me, an international crowdfunding platform, today announced its expansion to Miami and the launch of the Create Miami campaign, which will help 20 Miami entrepreneurs receive funding for their ideas from investors in the United States, Latin America and beyond. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is investing $175,000 to bring Idea.me to the United States.
The Create Miami campaign will establish a platform to crowdfund ideas from entrepreneurs who are focused on creating social, urban or community impact in Greater Miami. The campaign aims to identify 20 entrepreneurs to feature on the Idea.me platform. The selected entrepreneurs will receive workshops, marketing support and coaching to help with business development and growth, in addition to fundraising opportunities through the Idea.me site. Knight Foundation will match 50 percent of any funds raised through the platform with a limit of $5,000 per project. Applications are open until June 15 at idea.me/createmiami.
Idea.me is the largest crowdfunding platform in Latin America. The Idea.me site has more than 110,000 backers who have signed up to help fund cutting-edge ideas; 90 percent of the backers are based in Latin America and 10 percent are in the United States and other countries. Idea.me has funded some 1700 projects, mainly in Latin America.
“Miami’s growth as a cultural center and tech hub shows us how much is possible in the city. As an international gateway Miami was our first choice for global expansion,” said Alejo Nitti, Idea.me Director. “Our goal is to engage and connect the Greater Miami community. We want to partner with passionate entrepreneurs to take their creativity around tech and innovation to the next level.”
“Miami has made great strides, toward becoming a hub for innovation and startup growth—but there is still work to be done,” said Matt Haggman, Knight Foundation program director for Miami. “Through the Create Miami campaign, Idea.me will help to fill an important gap, opening new avenues for entrepreneurs to get funding and global exposure for their ideas.”
Idea.me operates in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Uruguay, where it has promoted over 1700 creative, social and entrepreneurial projects on its platform.
Support for the Idea.me Create Miami campaign forms one part of Knight Foundation’s efforts to invest in Miami’s emerging entrepreneurs as a tool to build community, while fostering talent and opportunity. Over the past 18 months Knight has made more than 100 investments in entrepreneurship in South Florida.
For more information on the Idea.me Create Miami campaign and to apply, visit by June 15: idea.me/createmiami
About Idea.me
Idea.me is Latin America’s leading crowdfunding platform for creative, social and entrepreneurship projects. As a social Enterprise, Idea.me’s mission is to foster an ecosystem that supports and cultivates emerging talent, enabling individuals to achieve their goals. idea.me
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
Knight Foundation supports transformational ideas that promote quality journalism, advance media innovation, engage communities and foster the arts. The Foundation believes that democracy thrives when people and communities are informed and engaged. For more, visit knightfoundation.org.
CONTACTS:
Thais Thiesen, Project Manager, Create Miami, (786) 401-4312, [email protected]
Anusha Alikhan, Director of Communications, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, 305-908-2646, [email protected]