Opportunity Miami

When it comes to waste management and recycling, we usually think of those as government services. After all, we pay for it every year in our annual tax bills. Recycling and trash pickup, though, can be a viable business. The global waste recycling services market is estimated to grow to $90 billion in the next decade_ . _ “It’s hard entering a monopolized industry being a little guy, but as a gra...

What would Florida’s economy look like if we could achieve a net-zero power grid by 2035, or thinking bigger, a net-zero economy by 2050? Those were the two scenarios in a recent study by The Nature Conservancy that outlines a future where renewable energy and sustainable practices drive economic success. Through land protections and restoration efforts, nature will do part of the job of decarboni...

If you are trying to attract business to Miami-Dade County, talent will be at the top of the list for them. “Talent is the economic currency of the day,” said Miami Dade College President Madeline Pumariega in an interview with Beacon Council CEO Rodrick Miller. Education is key to creating opportunities for the community. It also drives economic growth in Miami-Dade County.

Bailey Farren is a five-time wildfire evacuee from California. Her parents are first responders who relied on radio communications and paper maps to coordinate during disasters. Now she is on a mission to update disaster response communication between first responders on the ground and the general public.“It’s something that I first came to because I’m from one of those communities that has been v...

Alyssa-Amor Gibbons describes herself as an “architeer.” It is a play on words that she says best describes her work in architecture and engineering. “For me, architecture sits halfway between art and science,” she said in an Opportunity Miami Interview from her home in the Caribbean island nation of Barbados. “With this digital age… engineering design solutions across all these different fields,...

Since Miami has been identified with the problem that is the climate crisis, a problem shared by coastal cities around the world, why not own it? That’s what Michael Berkowitz with the University of Miami’s Climate Resilience Academy wants to accomplish: make this region the climate solutions hub. "If the U.S. is going to think about climate resilience, what better place for that to start tha...

The first botanical garden in the United States was founded in 1936 here in Miami. What started as an introduction to tropical plants has expanded to countless workshops and education at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Now, many students are asking for a greener city – to grow up in a tropical oasis. With the initiative City in the Garden , the goal is to make Miami a garden similar to how Sing...

Food waste is a big problem. More than a third of the food we buy each week is thrown into the trash and that’s the single largest source of waste in landfills. Rotting food releases voluminous levels of climate-warming methane into the air. One company is trying to change that. Mill is a home appliance resembling a trash bin that turns food waste into animal feed. “We’ve managed to take something...

The town of the future is here – and can be found in Florida. Babcock Ranch sits on about 20,000 acres of preserved – and restored – land in southwest Florida, about an hour north of Naples. And it is serving as a new model of how to live and build with community and sustainability in mind. "We're trying to prove that a new town can work hand in hand with the environment,” said Syd Kitson...

Hear CEO Rodrick’s Miller’s plans for the Miami-Dade Beacon Council and how Miami’s economy can compete in a changing environment. Miller describes a five-strategy approach to help make Greater Miami’s economy more inclusive, competitive, and sustainable. One, to help grow the economy through business attraction and retention of high-value jobs. Two, champion Miami through marketing campaigns and...

Stonly Baptiste Blue was born in Haiti, but eventually made his way to South Florida where he built multiple companies and helped pioneer Miami’s tech community when efforts were starting a decade ago. Today, he’s the co-founder of Third Sphere, a $100 million venture capital fund investing in companies building a sustainable and prosperous future. Blue and his co-founder, Shaun Abrahamson, are al...

A conversation with Dr. Alejandro Portes, author of "Emerging Global Cities," which traces the rise of Miami, Dubai, and Singapore. This conversation was part of Opportunity Miami's Academic Leaders Council, which includes the presidents of the local colleges and universities, as they collectively focus on meeting the talent development needs of the future. The event was hosted by Mi...

What can we do with all that seaweed washing up on our shores? Algas Organics has a possible solution: harvest that Sargassum and turn it into bio-fertilizer for farms across the country and Caribbean. The St. Lucia-based company was founded in 2014 by Johanan Dujon to help combat the invasive seaweed that continues to threaten tourism-dependent economies globally. Once harvested by Algas, the sea...

Miami-based OBE Power is betting on the EV revolution by identifying places where there will be significant car charging activity and assuming all of the upfront costs. They have launched charging locations at apartment buildings, offices, and government facilities. “We identify properties that are suitable for good demand levels for charging. We approach them,” said Alejandro Burgana, Co-founder...

How can artificial intelligence shape Miami’s workforce in tech? Colleges and universities already offer courses in AI, but Miami Dade College is taking one step further: it is the first college in the state that will offer a Bachelor’s degree in AI beginning in 2024. It’s already offering associate degrees and certificates in AI, with classes provided across its campuses. The college also has two...

Can the third largest school district in America be powered by 100 percent clean energy by 2030? Across the country, it may hard to find any organization of this size contemplating such an ambitious goal. In this conversation with Miami-Dade School Board Member Luisa Santos, we explore where this bid stands. Santos is a product of the local public school system, and is focused on transitioning the...

Greater access to public transportation means greater opportunity, according to Miami-Dade County Commission Chairman Oliver Gilbert. From housing affordability and income inequality to driving economic growth and decarbonizing our economy, how people get around is at the center of it all. The way Greater Miami builds its transportation future over the next two decades will play an outsized role i...

Established in 2012, ECOncrete is a manufacturer of concrete products intended to enhance the biological and ecological value of coastal and marine infrastructure. By enabling life on concrete, projects can meet both climate action goals as well as business goals. Chief Commercial Officer Michal Judovits told us. “I am confident that by 2040 no one will think about putting traditional gray concret...

Miami native Francesca “Cesi” de Quesada Covey leads the county’s efforts to accelerate innovation, entrepreneurship, and investment as part of Mayor Cava’s #FutureReady economic development strategy. This includes determining how innovation and new technologies can help our economic future by focusing on three pillars: unleashing innovation, advancing workforce talent, and supporting small busine...

Rini Greenfield is the Founding General Partner at Rethink Food – a venture capital firm that invests in entrepreneurs who are helping build the future of food. They invest in companies that help support the production, availability, and demand for healthier and more sustainable food for all people. As an impact investor, Rethink Food is looking for disruptive businesses operating across the entir...

Terri-Ann Brown is the Director of the $10M grant from the Good Jobs Challenge initiative by the US Economic Development Administration behind Miami Tech Works. Launched in February 2023 at Miami Dade College Idea Center, the main goal is to create a sustainable and fortified local tech talent pipeline, closing the gap between companies looking for tech talent and the number of talented students a...

Eve Air Mobility is one of the electrical vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (or eVTOL) companies focused on taking four passengers on short trips in major cities. Eve expects to be certified by 2025 with commercial operations beginning the following year. The market will grow quickly and scale toward high-frequency operations within a decade, said Matthew Land, who leads government relations an...

It’s often said that talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. This has long been the case in tech. To bridge the racial digital divide, one Miami native is going from the music to the tech industry. “There’s some very talented people right here in South Florida and all they need is an opportunity, and that’s what TechNolij is here to do,” said Ted Lucas of the nonprofit. Lucas founded Slip-N-S...

Miami has been described as the epicenter of the climate change crisis in the country. But how can Miami transform its climate vulnerability into solutions? Harvard Business School professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter released a study in 2022 that focused on Miami’s climate action and economic growth. In our interview, she describes how Miami can become a global climate solutions hub by reinventing its...

We are undergoing an electric revolution. With electric vehicle registrations up, so is demand and interest in technology and infrastructure that can make charging more convenient, not just for cars but for our everyday lives. “The way the grid has operated for 100 years is going to change dramatically, and we're enabling that transition, and we're going to make it work as a very positive experien...