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AGENCY TESTIMONY
EDC's equity pillars: diverse entrepreneurship, workforce development, and MWBE utilization
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ยท
3 min
Andrew Kimball details EDC's commitment to equity through three main pillars: supporting diverse entrepreneurship, expanding workforce development, and improving access for Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises (MWBEs).
- Founder Fellowship program supporting diverse tech and green startup founders
- Venture Access Alliance to build an inclusive tech and venture ecosystem
- Workforce development initiatives in tech, life sciences, and green economy sectors
- NYC Waterfront Pathways Program to increase opportunities for MWBEs in offshore wind and waterfront industries
- Economic Mobility Networks to be implemented in Hunts Point, Sunset Park, and East New York
- Over $234 million committed to MWBE firms last year
- Construct NYC program to connect small to mid-sized MWBEs with EDC project opportunities
Andrew Kimball
0:11:26
We do this by supporting diverse entrepreneurship, expanding workforce development, and improving access to MWDB firms.
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This work is at the heart of our mission and our projects and helps us ensure that all New Yorkers can participate in the industries of tomorrow.
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Diverse entrepreneurship is EDC's first equity pillar and our initiatives aim to enhance diversity within three innovation industry sectors.
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EDC's founder fellowship supports a diverse community of New York City tech and green startup founder teams with much needed access to resources and networks to help them grow their companies.
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We have had 250 founder fellowship participations participants since 2022 and over a hundred and $61,000,000 increase in company valuation for those companies across their teams the last two years.
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The Venture Access Alliance is a coalition of venture capital investments brought brought investors brought together by EDC who believe New York City's diversity is its greatest strength and opportunity for growth and work together to build an inclusive tech and venture ecosystem in New York City.
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Second pillar of our equity work is workforce development, creating the educational and talent pipeline so that all New Yorkers can participate in the city's growing innovation industries.
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Building on the foundation for a diverse talent pipeline into startups, we continue our partnership with company ventures and CUNY in 2024.
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Summer internship programs provide provides accessible pathways to tech careers for low income college students.
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Our LifeSci NYC internship program continued strong in 2024, providing undergraduate and graduate students quality internships at pharmaceutical and biotech companies, digital health companies, research organizations and startups, while offering curriculum and training support.
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Since the program's inception in 2018 has placed more than a thousand students at over 200 companies.
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One of the great things we're seeing is that interns from the early years of this program now have their own companies and are hiring life science interns.
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To advance a green economy workforce, EDC launched the NYC Waterfront Pathways Program to counter documented disparities in public procurement by increasing opportunities for minority owned, women owned, and disadvantaged business enterprises in the offshore wind and waterfront industries.
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EDC is preparing to select three economic mobility networks in the coming months which will implement a workforce development strategy to foster long term economic mobility in Hunts Point, Sunset Park and East New York.
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These economic mobility networks will leverage EDC assets to expand employment and work based learning opportunities for local residents and expand local awareness and training for the city's innovation industries.
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Third pillar of our equity work focuses on MWBE utilization.
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Last year EDC committed over $234,000,000 to MWBE firms.
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To support the development and capacity building of city MWBE firms, EDC's construct NYC program is designed to connect small to mid sized minority women owned and otherwise disadvantaged business enterprises with exclusive opportunities to work on EDC projects through contracts of up to 3,000,000.
0:14:34
Before I take you on a flyover the harbor of the future, I'd like to briefly highlight some of EDC's procurement opportunities.