Mana Tech, part of Miami-based businessman and real estate developer Moishe Mana’s Mana Common, has just announced a merger with Base Miami, an accelerator program focused on providing a soft landing for Latin American startup founders.
Through the merger, Base Miami’s co-founder Charly Esnal will take on the position of Managing Director of Mana Tech. Esnal told South Florida Tech Hub that the merger will enable Base Miami to grow and introduce a broader swath of entrepreneurs to our regional tech ecosystem.
“The focus on Latin America and the Caribbean will be maintained in the beginning. But eventually the plan is to expand that focus to also start supporting Israeli startups in their landing here, and eventually Asian startups,” said Esnal.
With the support of the broader Mana Tech apparatus, Esnal noted that Base Miami will offer deeper knowledge and support to founders by running vertical-specific programming. These verticals will focus on a mix of the top tech sectors in Miami at the moment, the strengths South Florida has to offer as an ecosystem, and the added value that Mana Common can provide.
Esnal
The first vertical on the horizon is fintech. “Miami is now the crypto capital of the world,” asserted Esnal, “and Mana Tech has been building a community and thought leadership in the NFT space.”
Esnal noted last year’s NFT BZL event, where Mana Tech brought thousands of web3 enthusiasts to Downtown Miami. Thanks to the success of that event, Mana Tech will be running another Miami NFT BZL from November 30th to December 4th this year. They have also scheduled NFT BZL events in Bogotá and São Paulo for this October.
After fintech, Mana Tech plans to create programming around the health tech and real estate tech verticals – again building off both where Mana and Miami can add value. Further down the line, Esnal said that the organization is exploring other verticals including potentially hospitality and logistics.
In his new role as Managing Director of Mana Tech, Charly hopes to catalyze the Miami tech moment on a global scale. “We have the resources, we have the real estate, we have the space, and we are going to create an environment for collaboration and for community building,” he asid. “But we also need the community to step up and help us in this process because it’s something that we will build out together.”
Mana Tech is currently hiring for both leadership and operational roles, including a Head of Community and an events management team.
Previously, Esnal has held CEO positions in startups and multinational corporations. Over the course of his career, he has helped more than 100 Latin American tech startups land and launch in the US.
“Nurturing the local technology industry will lead to the development of what this city really needs – more high paying jobs,” Moishe Mana said in a statement. “Our vision aligns perfectly with the work Base Miami has been doing for the last two years: working to make Miami a global technology hub, connecting Latin America to the rest of the world through Miami.”
For Esnal, it’s not just about #MiamiTech but rather about the tri-county region overall. “The South Florida ecosystem is one,” he said. “Let’s collaborate and build stuff that will enhance our ecosystem as a whole.”