This is a space where innovative ideas are born from young people in the Bronx who want to change the world with technology. The program has already helped dozens of companies grow and thrive, paving the way for entrepreneurs from marginalized communities to make their mark. Let’s learn more about this impactful socioeconomic initiative on bronx-future.com.
The Need for MetaBronx
New York City’s tech sector has always grown rapidly, creating countless new jobs. The Bronx, however, has lagged significantly behind. While tech employment in Manhattan and Brooklyn grew by nearly 80%, the Bronx saw only a 12% increase.
To address this disparity, local tech companies and startups are working to make the borough more attractive for innovation. New incubators, tech training programs, and job openings are emerging. A key step in this effort was the launch of the MetaBronx accelerator in the Mott Haven neighborhood. MetaBronx aims to create a genuine tech ecosystem that not only fosters business growth but also positively impacts the local community. Leaders in the Bronx believe that collaboration and mutual support will help the borough become a vital part of the city’s technological future.
“There’s a real sense of community in the Bronx; people are trying to help each other,” said Keith Klein, CEO of Doran Jones, about his experience in Port Morris. “The Bronx has a chance to define itself as a tech hub.”
However, one of the main obstacles remains unequal access to investment. Historically, funding for innovation has only gone to a select few. The internet has made it possible to uncover talent from every corner of society—regardless of background, gender, or personal identity. Still, most investments are directed toward large corporations or data automation rather than meaningful change for people.
MetaBronx offers a different approach: investing in youth and diversity. They believe that those who have the least to gain from the existing system have the greatest incentive to innovate, often simply to survive.
When the project launched in 2015, few believed in it. Combining startup acceleration with youth education seemed impossible. But despite the skepticism and near-total lack of funding, MetaBronx became a driver of change, proving that a community and innovation can thrive together.
The Organization’s Goal and Mission
Alejandra Molina, co-founder of MetaBronx, has a strong background in international business, innovation, and technology. Her first U.S. startup, the language platform BeepBoop, gave her a deep understanding of the challenges young entrepreneurs face, especially those without access to privileged resources. This experience was the catalyst for creating MetaBronx—a community-focused accelerator.
Within the organization, Alejandra focuses on building partnerships, developing programs, fostering the community, and providing education. Her mission is to share knowledge, support entrepreneurs from marginalized groups, and help them succeed in the startup world.
While MetaBronx is based in the South Bronx, it accepts applications from across the country, as long as the founders are registered in the U.S.
The organization supports:
- Women founders
- Entrepreneurs from the LGBTQ community
- Immigrants
- Youth from low-income families
The organization’s goal is to build a sustainable innovation ecosystem that creates opportunities for underrepresented entrepreneurs and tech talent.
MetaBronx doesn’t just support startups. This accelerator creates a platform where young people from the Bronx and similar regions can learn modern digital skills, participate in paid internship programs, build careers in technology, and become founders of their own companies.
For immigrants, the path to starting a business in the U.S. is particularly difficult due to bureaucracy, instability, and a lack of support. Alejandra emphasizes the importance of finding a community that understands this experience. She also advocates for developing partnerships between universities and organizations like MetaBronx to help international students stay in the country after graduation and grow their ideas.
Noteworthy Projects and Startups
When a few enthusiasts came together in an old industrial area of the South Bronx in 2015, they had no fancy offices or generous investments. They only had faith that talent exists everywhere—even in places that had been overlooked by venture capital for years.
The first projects were modest but profound in their purpose. Glass Files allowed people to store family histories and archives—not just a technology, but an attempt to preserve cultural heritage. Another startup, Neture, aimed to connect vulnerable communities to the internet, giving them access to online education, opportunities, and a digital presence.
These weren’t trendy technologies for Silicon Valley; they were solutions needed right here, right now.
In 2019, the pandemic changed the world, but MetaBronx saw it as a challenge. While large corporations scrambled to maintain their positions, small teams from the Bronx looked for ways to help others.
Startups emerged, such as:
- Concourse Markets, which opened the door to syndicated investments.
- Ziel Wear, which offered flexible clothing manufacturing.
- OpticSurg, which combined medicine with augmented reality.
- Kidmoto, which provided safe airport transfers for families with young children.
All of these were responses to needs that arose not in labs but in real life.
From 2020 to 2023, MetaBronx actively supported new startups that thought differently. Dashible enabled real-time searches for discounts at local shops. MoneyCaptain taught families to manage finances without fear of numbers. Proneer created a virtual fitting room, and SaveAway offered a way to save without relying on credit.
Year by year, MetaBronx has transformed into a powerful platform that launches dozens of new names annually.
In 2024, some of the standout startups include:
- ListedB: A booking platform for beauty professionals.
- Cookie Langs: A language learning app using emotions, movies, and culture.
- Recess Labs: A digital wellness tool for office workers’ mental health.
- Atelier App: Interior redesign with a Latin American flair.
- Crypto Tutors: Financial literacy through blockchain technology.
According to co-founder Miguel Sanchez, the startups that emerge here are created not for the market as a whole but for the people around them.
“These new tech programs, training programs, and accelerators, they’re working in a way that they’re identifying community needs and then creating programs based on that,” Sanchez said.
MetaBronx is an ecosystem that thrives not in spite of challenges, but because of them. The organization is focused on a world where innovation flows not from the top down but from the bottom up—from the people who have the most incentive to create change.
10 Years of Growth and Support
Over the past few years, MetaBronx has accelerated 24 startups founded by entrepreneurs typically overlooked by the venture capital world.
These entrepreneurs lacked a network of contacts, had no seed capital, and often lacked support from family or society. But they had ideas, they had determination—and they found a place that gave them a chance.
Achievements that MetaBronx can be proud of in its 10 years of existence:
- $17.3 million in investments.
MetaBronx startups have raised over $17 million in external venture capital. This isn’t just a number. It’s proof that investors are starting to see what they once ignored. Innovation can be born not only in California or Manhattan but also in the Bronx, Harlem, and Detroit—anywhere there’s a desire to change one’s life.
- 250+ innovators trained.
Beyond supporting startups, MetaBronx invests in people. Over 250 innovators from local communities have completed their training programs, from entrepreneurship fundamentals to tech skills. They are now part of a movement that is changing the economy from the inside out.
- 1,500 high school students involved.
Most importantly, they focus on youth. More than 1,500 high school students from the Bronx have completed internships through MetaBronx programs. For them, it’s not just a practice run. It’s the first step into a world they never dreamed of being a part of.
MetaBronx continues to grow. Its main goal is to expand training programs for youth from low-income families, provide even more support for community startups, and prove that a technological revolution can start from any neighborhood—even one that everyone underestimated.
