Medina CapitaManaging Partner and eMerge Americas Conference creator Manuel D. Medina discusses Miami’s budding tech industry

What were the origins of eMerge Americas and the movement to build a tech hub in Miami?

The idea grew out of my frustrations in running a publicly traded tech company, Terremark, headquartered in Miami, but the city not getting any respect when it came to technology. Miami is the capital of everything having to do with Latin America, except technology. We determined that a major event, modeled after South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin, would be the best way forward to promote the tech potential and opportunities that exist here – just look at what Art Basel did for arts and culture in Miami. This conference, however, is just one part of a greater strategy, which has the following four pillars: education; incubators and accelerators; funding mechanisms; and an employment base. These are the four essential components to a healthy tech ecosystem.

What are some of the tech trends in and related to Latin America? How do these impact Miami? 

There is greater mobile penetration in Latin America than in the U.S., which makes mobile technology a key growth area in the region, as are cyber security and cloud products, or “agile IT.” Miami is well positioned to benefit from the growth of Latin America’s tech industry, and the increasing international interest the region has generated. We are seeing an insatiable appetite for the transfer of technology into Latin America from abroad, as well as a desire to import technology developed in Latin America to the U.S. For legacy companies – the IBMs and HPs of the world – the explosion in the development of innovative technologies in Latin America presents new opportunities for their business.

What factors inform Miami’s potential to become a tech hub, specifically a tech hub for Latin America?

Miami houses the Network Access Point (NAP) of the Americas, through which 95 percent of the Internet traffic between Latin America, North America and Europe passes. There are 170-180 carriers amalgamated in this facility, and that is a feature that sets Miami apart from a connectivity standpoint. Miami also has a strong bilingual base, which is increasingly important for developing technology ties with Latin America and attracting Latin American capital.

With regard to funding, eMerge Americas is working to recruit more venture capitalists (VCs) to Miami. What has been the progress to date?

The success of eMerge Americas, which saw more media impressions in its first year than SXSW, has been eye-catching for Silicon Valley and East Coast VCs. We are also capitalizing on the presence of family offices here in Miami, many of whom were previously investing almost exclusively in real estate, but are now providing seed money for a number of tech ventures and talented entrepreneurs.

We want to make Miami a place where ideas are built. In the past, if somebody had a great idea, they would question whether Miami was the place to launch it. We are changing this paradigm by directing significant dollars towards creating a robust network of talent, funders, inspiration, supported by a rich calendar of events.

In 2012, the Knight Foundation launched an initiative around entrepreneurship to better connect and propel emerging communities of innovators in Miami. This idea-agnostic initiative sought high-impact and scalable ideas, with high growth potential. The goal was to improve talent retention and attraction, and add another layer to the identity of this rapidly changing city, as well as foster a community of problem-solvers.

Two exciting programs we have supported un-der this initiative are Endeavor and LaunchCode. We provided a $2-million grant to make Miami the first U.S. city to launch Endeavor and 2014 marked its first full year. Endeavor is a global non-profit that identifies promising entrepreneurs and pairs them with highly accomplished mentors with the intention of nurturing the young talent to stardom. Based on a pay-it-forward model, the idea is that once these entrepreneurs become successful, they will mentor and sponsor other budding innovators, thereby creating a virtuous cycle. In 2014, the Knight Foundation also invested $1.25 million to bring LaunchCode – a St. Louis-based program that offers students guided coursework in programming and coding – to Miami in 2014.

This community’s efforts to foster a tech hub is paying off. One notable example is Mako Surgical – a homegrown, Miami-based surgical robotics company, which had a $1.65 billion exit in late 2013. Maurice Ferre, Mako’s founder, is now on the board of Endeavor Miami, and contributing to creating that multiplier effect. Other notable examples include .co that sold for $109 million, Open English that raised $130m in Miami for their U.S. expansion and Magic Leap that sold for $500 million. As the local tech ecosystem continues to evolve, we will hear more stories like this coming out of Miami.