HabitAware wins JP Morgan Chase/Meda Innovative Minority-Led Business Prize
HabitAware won $20,000 prize dedicated to minority-led entrants for MN Cup
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (October 8, 2018) – Metropolitan Economic Department Association (Meda) and JP Morgan Chase presented HabitAware with it Third Annual JP Morgan Chase/ Meda Innovative Minority-Led Business Prize tonight at the 2018 MN Cup Final Awards. HabitAware won $20,000 from Meda and JP Morgan Chase. HabitAware also won the grand prize at MN Cup.
Meda and JP Morgan Chase launched this prize to encourage and incentivize minority entrepreneurs to participate in MN Cup, the largest start-up competition in country. Since the launch of the prize, minority participation has increase from 20% in 2016 to 27% in 2018. Nine of this year’s 27 MN Cup finalists were minority-led businesses, including all three high-tech finalists.
“Meda and JP Morgan Chase were intentional in providing a prize that would attract entries from minority-owned companies at all stages of the business lifecycle. There is precious little equity and capital available to minority businesses so it is important that minority entrepreneurs take advantage of all opportunities like MN Cup,” said Gary L. Cunningham, President and CEO of Meda. “We are excited for Aneela and HabitAware. We want to congratulate them for winning our prize and the MN Cup grand prize.”
HabitAware is also one of twenty semi-finalists pitching at Meda’s $1 Million Challenge Powered by Chase on Wednesday in Saint Paul.
About Meda
Meda was founded by a group of Minnesota business leaders who saw minority business ownership as a positive, long-term response to rising economic inequity within minority communities in our state. Meda provides business development services, access to capital and corporate and governmental market support for minority entrepreneurs. Over the years, we have helped launch more than 500 minority businesses and assisted more than 20,000 Minnesota minority entrepreneurs. Today, Meda clients employ 6,000 Minnesotans and have a combined annual revenue of $1 billion. Meda operates a growing Community Development Fund Institution (CDFI) that provides needed capital for minority businesses to become sustainable. Meda is also the host organization for the Minneapolis Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center, which has been recognized by the MBDA as the top performing center three consecutive years. For more information, visit meda.net.
About JPMorgan Chase & Co.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading global financial services firm with assets of $2.5 trillion and operations worldwide. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing, and asset management. A component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, JPMorgan Chase & Co. serves millions of customers in the United States and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients under its J.P. Morgan and Chase brands. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.
Contact:
Andrew O’Leary
Meda
612-259-6581