Latino communities make up nearly 20% of the U.S. population and contribute over $4 trillion to the economy annually, yet remain vastly underserved by mainstream institutions. Kiwi is on a mission to close that gap. The company, which already has operations in Miami, will use the capital to expand into additional states, launch new products, and scale its platform to reach millions of consumers.<\/p>\n
Founded in 2020 by Alexander Schachter and Mariano Sanz, both originally from the Dominican Republic, Kiwi was created to address the financial challenges faced by Hispanic consumers in the U.S. who have limited or no credit history. Since its launch, the platform has already served more than 100,000 consumers in its mission to expand access to responsible credit for underserved Latino communities nationwide.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cAccess to credit is about promoting possibilities, and AI is helping us deliver this reality for millions excluded from traditional financial products,\u201d said Sanz, Kiwi\u2019s CEO.<\/p>\n
2<\/p>\n
FAU to open to new innovation center for smart infrastructure tech<\/p>\n
\u00a0The College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University<\/a> has received a $1.5 million gift from the Aaron Family Foundation and Ubicquia<\/a>,\u00a0 a Fort Lauderdale-based technology company, to establish the Ubicquia Innovation Center for Intelligent Infrastructure. Ubicquia is a global leader in artificial intelligence-driven sensors and software platforms that help utilities and municipalities improve grid resiliency, reduce energy consumption, and enhance public safety.<\/p>\n The center will serve as an accelerator for innovation, design and deployment of leading-edge industrial sensors, Large Language Models, AI and real-time analytics to digitize and monitor critical infrastructure used by the utility, municipal and commercial, and industrial sectors, FAU said. Through this partnership, Ubicquia and the College of Engineering and Computer Science <\/a>will also collaborate directly with leading utilities, municipalities and commercial companies to fast-track advancements in power quality and grid monitoring, energy and operational efficiencies, and security and public safety. The center will also serve as an immersive environment where undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students can work directly with FAU faculty on next-generation technologies.<\/p>\n \u201cFAU is conducting groundbreaking work at the intersection of engineering, artificial intelligence and smart infrastructure,\u201d said Ian Aaron<\/a>, CEO of Ubicquia. \u201cThrough commercial and academic innovation, our shared vision is to accelerate the deployment of intelligent infrastructure globally that is affordable for utilities, cities and businesses of all sizes.\u201d<\/p>\n The new center complements the College of Engineering and Computer Science\u2019s recent collaboration with Florida Power & Light Company on establishing the FPL Center for Intelligent Energy Technologies<\/a> designed to boost pioneering research in smart technologies for the energy sector and workforce development demanded by modern-day power delivery.<\/p>\n 3<\/p>\n Black Ambition Demo Day coming to Miami this week<\/p>\n Pharrell Williams and Felecia Hatcher will host the 5th Annual Black Ambition<\/a> Demo Day on Friday, Nov. 14, followed by the half day Black Ambition Founders Forum on Saturday at The Sacred Space Miami. The two-day event \u00a0brings together founders, visionaries, investors, and cultural icons for a celebration of Black ambition.<\/p>\n This year,\u00a0nearly 2,500 entrepreneurs nationwide\u00a0applied to the 2025 Black Ambition Prize, and this weekend 25 finalists\u00a0will receive awards totaling over $1 million\u00a0in funding, including a $100,000 top prize winner and $25,000 for the People\u2019s Choice award announced during Demo Day on Friday. The evening will also feature a showcase of breakout founders and a fireside chat with Pharrell.<\/p>\n \u00a0In addition to awarding millions in prize money since its launch in 2020, Black Ambition has also supported 25,000+ entrepreneurs through programming and content and \u00a0provided mentorship to over 1,175 founders through its Black Ambitionist accelerator.<\/p>\n Find out more about the Demo Day and RSVP here<\/a>.<\/p>\n 4<\/p>\n MyPrize and Crypto.com partner to launch MyPrize Markets<\/p>\n MyPrize<\/a> and Crypto.com announced a strategic partnership to launch MyPrize Markets, what Miami-based MyPrize says is the first platform combining social gaming and prediction markets in one unified experience to MyPrize\u2019s 1 million+ global users through Crypto.com\u2019s CFTC-regulated platform.<\/p>\n Prediction markets have exploded in popularity and are now used as leading indicators across industries, but today, these platforms are built for traders. Through this partnership, MyPrize and Crypto.com will combine an entertainment-first approach with live streaming, social features, and an elegant user experience that makes markets accessible to everyone.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter exploring the market, it quickly became obvious to us that Crypto.com has by far the market leading infrastructure for institutional and enterprise scale. Together we will be able to deliver this first of its kind product offering to all of MyPrize\u2019s users and onboard our billions in volume into the MyPrize Markets product,\u201d said Zach Bruch, founder & CEO of MyPrize.<\/p>\n 5<\/p>\n Kapitale raises $25M credit facility to empower small businesses<\/p>\n Kapitale<\/a>, a rapidly growing Miami-based direct funder serving small businesses across the United States, has closed a $25 million credit facility with a fund managed by Pier Asset Management, a private credit investment firm focused on specialty finance.<\/p>\n The new facility significantly strengthens Kapitale\u2019s balance sheet, bringing its total funding capacity to over $50 million, and positions the company to meet record demand for same-day working capital solutions at a time when traditional bank lending continues to tighten.<\/p>\n \u201cSmall businesses are the backbone of the American economy \u2014 and yet, in today\u2019s credit environment, many are being left behind by traditional financial institutions,\u201d said Matheus Freire, founder and CEO of Kapitale. \u201cThis facility allows us to continue expanding our reach and impact, ensuring business owners across the country can access the capital they need \u2014 quickly, transparently, and without unnecessary friction.\u201d<\/p>\n Since its founding, Kapitale has focused on providing\u00a0 flexible, and fast financing options ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, with same-day approvals, no collateral requirements, and trilingual support in English, Spanish, and Portuguese. With this new facility, Kapitale plans to deepen its presence across the United States, expand its partner network, and strengthen its underwriting infrastructure in preparation for future securitization and institutional expansion.<\/p>\n 6<\/p>\n Entech acquires LAN Infotech of Fort Lauderdale<\/p>\n To better serve its small and mid-sized business customers, Entech, a managed IT, AI, and cybersecurity services provider in Florida, has acquired LAN Infotech<\/a>, a Fort Lauderdale-based IT services firm. LAN Infotech\u2019s clients will see expanded service offerings, next-generation cybersecurity, greater compliance and regulatory support, and a unified customer experience, the companies said.<\/p>\n \u201cEntech and LAN\u2019s shared values, approach to business, and unwavering commitment to service excellence made this an easy decision for me. Partnering with Entech creates remarkable opportunities for our clients, team and community,\u201d said LAN Infotech founder Michael Goldstein. Lan Infotech provided\u00a0 Microsoft Cloud services, IT managed support, and cybersecurity services.<\/p>\n 7<\/p>\n Jobs, jobs, jobs \u00a0<\/p>\n Betr \u2013\u00a0Data Analyst<\/a> Find hundreds more jobs on Refresh Miami\u2019s job board\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n 8-PLUS<\/p>\n Opportunity knocks<\/p>\n \u00a0Apply to catapult your startup at the 2026\u00a0eMerge\u00a0Americas\u00a0Conference + Expo April 23\u201324 in Miami, where 100 startups will be selected to learn from class mentors, connect with investors and partners, showcase in front of thousands, and potentially pitch for $125K in funding and prizes in the grand finale. Learn more and apply by Jan. 16.<\/a><\/p>\n The\u00a0Miami\u00a0Dade Innovation Authority (MDIA)\u00a0has launched its seventh public innovation challenge and it is\u00a0 centered on emergency response. MDIA is seeking applications from early-to-growth stage startups with pilot-ready solutions to improve hazard mitigation, incident response, and public outreach and safety coordination for the\u00a0Miami-Dade County Department of Emergency Management.\u00a0Apply here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The SMB Growth Lab, hosted by eMerge Americas, JPMorganChase + Momentum Miami, empowes Miami-Dade small and mid-sized businesses to embrace digital transformation, strengthen operations, and unlock sustainable growth opportunities.\u00a0Apply here by Jan. 16.<\/a><\/p>\n Israeli founders can showcase their startup, product, or breakthrough solution to global investors, partners and media at\u00a0Israel Tech Week Miami 2026\u00a0next April.\u00a0Apply now on the website here.<\/a><\/p>\n ICYMI<\/p>\n From Bezos to Dimon to Trump, America Business Forum brought big ideas \u2013 and Miami \u2013 to a world stage<\/a><\/p>\n Miami\u2019s tech opportunity is to take on New York City, not San Francisco<\/a><\/p>\n Make room, Waymo: Tesla robotaxi service may soon be coming to Miami<\/a><\/p>\n From Madrid to Miami, Lodgerin is building the future of global mid-term rentals<\/a><\/p>\n IOU Marker wants to make getting paid a little less painful<\/a><\/p>\n AI, meet antibodies. Inside EVQLV\u2019s \u2018ChatGPT moment for biology\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n From \u2018digital gold\u2019 to daily use, crypto is here to stay: Inside Blockchain Futurist Conference 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Is the Crypto Capital back? Miami\u2019s next wave of events says so<\/a><\/p>\n Paylode finds a bigger stage, snapped up by Moved to power the future of resident perks<\/a><\/p>\n Can AI finally take care of your to-do list? One founder thinks so<\/a><\/p>\n New name, big mission: NEXA, formerly Social Mobile, is building the next generation of enterprise mobility<\/a><\/p>\n And much more paywall-free news\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n Have news to report? Email Nancy Dahlberg at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>\u00a0and follow her on X @ndahlberg and\u00a0on LinkedIn<\/a>.\u00a0Subscribe to Refresh Miami\u2019s free weekly newsletter\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0featuring startup news, tech job opportunities and events.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thank you for reading Refresh Miami and supporting paywall-free news.\u00a0Give Miami Day<\/a>\u00a0is coming up!\u00a0Please support us so we can continue covering #MiamiTech\u00a0for you. Early giving starts here<\/a> on Nov. 15.<\/p>\n
DoorLoop \u2013\u00a0Account Executive<\/a>
eMed \u2013\u00a0Product Designer<\/a>
eMed \u2013\u00a0SEM\/Paid Search Manager<\/a>
GreenLight Workforce Solutions \u2013\u00a0Venture Builder \u2013 Strategy & Operations Analyst<\/a>
Kaseya \u2013\u00a0BIS Product Manager<\/a>
Lennar \u2013\u00a0Sr IT Auditor<\/a>
NEXA \u2013\u00a0Marketing Specialist<\/a>
NEXA \u2013\u00a0Sales Operations Analyst<\/a>
RMW Accounting \u2013\u00a0Head of Practice Operations<\/a>
Royal Caribbean Group \u2013\u00a0Director of Business Process Optimization<\/a>
Vultr \u2013\u00a0Sr Site Reliability Engineer, Core Cloud Engineering<\/a><\/p>\n![\"Nancy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/60b7851ea3a84-bpfull.jpg\")
<\/a> I am a writer and editor with extensive media experience and a passion for journalism and serving the community. Most of my career has been spent with the Miami Herald in business news, and my expertise is writing about tech and entrepreneurs. I love hosting this blog for Refresh Miami and we aim to be the go-to site for South Florida startup and tech news, features and views. Have news? Contact me at [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>. Thanks for reading! <\/a>Latest posts by Nancy Dahlberg (see all<\/a>)\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t8+ things to know in #MiamiTech: Kiwi raises $100M credit facility, FAU to get new innovation center plus news from Black Ambition, MyPrize, Kapitale, LAN Infotech, job opportunities & more<\/a> – November 12, 2025\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMake room, Waymo: Tesla robotaxi service may soon be coming to Miami<\/a> – November 10, 2025\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrom Bezos to Dimon to Trump, America Business Forum brought big ideas \u2013 and Miami \u2013 to a world stage<\/a> – November 7, 2025\t\t\t\t \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"1 Miami-based fintech Kiwi secures $100M credit facility Kiwi, a financial technology startup building AI-powered financial tools for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":78,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":{"0":"post-44041","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hialeah","8":"tag-hialeah","9":"tag-hialeah-headlines","10":"tag-hialeah-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44041"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44041\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}