Every month, we recap the biggest tech and startup happenings in Rhode Island. (To get this info every Tuesday, sign up for the Rhode Island Inno Beat newsletter.)
Let’s dive in.
October was a big month for innovation and startups as RI Startup Week kicked off the month. As part of the celebration, developer Kiki Nyagah developed a new app that melds art, history and civic engagement through an interactive game. Nyagah, who is an industrial design student and community organizer at the Rhode Island School of Design, came up with the idea for Mode: Yellow 5 in 2019 during one of her classes. This year's RI Startup Week included an opportunity for attendees to "Learn and Seek" on a scavenger hunt of PVD's Innovation District with a special edition of Mode: Yellow 5.
Kelly Ramirez was on board when the Social Enterprise Greenhouse opened in 2009 in Rhode Island and as it expanded to include a mentor and sponsorship program with 200 volunteer experts. But in October, after watching startups like Hope’s Harvest, GoPeer, and the Steel Yard blossom into major companies, Ramirez is stepping down for a new opportunity at Providence College. To honor Ramirez, the Social Enterprise Greenhouse created The Kelly Fund, a milestone $120,000 for the fund, and has named Eugenio Fernandez as the first ever recipient of the $20,000 Kelly Fund Impact Prize.
Also last month, the Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner and the Governor's office cut the ribbon on the Woonsocket Education Center with employer partners including CVS Health, Fidelity and AAA Northeast. According to Rhode Island Commissioner of Postsecondary Education Shannon Gilkey, these partnerships will provide a tailor-made pipeline of talent and jobs to the area.
Jamie Mitri, a Smithfield, RI native, created Moss Pure, natural art made from real moss, after winning the MIT startup Lebanon competition in 2020 and now sells the natural art on her site as well as through the online retailer, Wayfair. The living moss artwork is made with 95% sustainable and eco-friendly material, with the Zigzag frame being 100% reclaimed wood. Additionally, the moss plant requires no electricity and little upkeep.
In October, Rhode Island played host to the first ever Beyond COP21 Symposium to be held in the United States. As the Head of the Gordon School in East Providence, Noni Thomas López has been busy for three years working to give young people the tools to tackle climate change. Students from the Lincoln School, Highlander Charter School, Portsmouth Public Schools, Riverside Middle School, San Miguel School, Silver Spring Elementary, and Woodside Montessori Academy will be educated on work of meeting the ambitious goals set by the Paris Agreement in 2016 and engaged through a day of interactive discussions, workshops, and an exhibition.
Over the last three years, Brown University undergrads like Galit Ringach have mentored more than 150 local high school students trying to build a business from the ground up as part of the Young Entrepreneurs of Providence or YEP. This fall, that includes Woonsocket teen and Met School junior Zainabou Thiam, who hopes YEP will help her grow her e-commerce business, Sunu Body.
