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Jaylon Smith's Minority Entrepreneurship Institute Fosters Economic Equality.

Jaylon Smith's Minority Entrepreneurship Institute Fosters Economic Equality.
Jaylon Smith

Founded by NFL player Jaylon Smith, the Minority Entrepreneurship Institute is working to close the economic and educational gap in minority communities through entrepreneurship.

Smith, who played in college for the University of Notre Dame and in the NFL for the Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants, considers the Minority Entrepreneurship Institute is a way of giving back to his Fort Wayne, Indiana community.

The Minority Entrepreneurship Institute is the answer to the lack of financial funding and resources in minority communities. The organization is a seed-stage impact investing fund that hosts annual pitch competitions for black, latinx, and female founders, and has invested over 1.2 million dollars in 12 companies.

Portfolio:

  • AfroLandTV: Online streaming TV platform for Pan African TV shows and movies.
  • COI Energy: Digital energy management platform that detects and eliminates energy waste in buildings and repurposes that waste for good.
  • Cuemby: NoOps cloud platform effortlessly manages distributed cloud Kubernetes resources.
  • Deliverend: Facebook marketplace local pickup and delivery service.
  • Duke.AI: Automated accounting and bookkeeping for owner pperators in the trucking industry.
  • Home Lending Pal: AI-powered mortgage advisor within a blockchain ecosystem that creates more transparent process for borrowers.
  • Hurry Home: Matches single-family rental investor properties to families that want to own their home in a modified rent-to-own contract.
  • Kanarys: Analytics platform aimed at monitoring, analyzing, and addressing diversity and inclusion challenges.
  • Nestre: Improvements to mental and cognitive strength of users.
  • ShearShare: First B2B mobile marketplace for stylists to manage and grow their small businesses on their terms, starting with space to work.
  • Traction: Equip athletes physically and mentally for success through best-in-class personal instruction, club teams, and camps.
  • Zirtue: Relationship-based social lending app that simplifies loans between friends, family, and trusted relationships with automatic ACH loan payments.

Jaylon Smith's career in the NFL and his involvement in community initiatives parallel the mission of the Minority Entrepreneurship Institute. Both represent the pursuit of excellence and equity in their respective fields, with Smith's athletic achievements and MEI's entrepreneurial support aiming to make a positive impact.

An entrepreneur himself, Jaylon Smith also invests in venture capital firms, real estate, and he owns an eyewear line CEV Collection.