The New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) has joined forces with City University of New York (CUNY) to help international entrepreneurs obtain visas. The program, called the International Innovators Initiative (IN2NYC), will help up to 80 entrepreneurs access visas in order to stay in New York. IN2NYC will allow these entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and is projected to create more than 700 jobs in the next three years.
The program is part of Mayor Bill de Blasio administration’s larger aims of encouraging entrepreneurship and supporting immigrants in order to build an inclusive New York City economy. “This is a win for our universities, our working people and our city’s ability to compete on the global stage,” Mayor de Blasio said in a press release. “We are making sure New York City remains a magnet for the world’s top talent, and putting New Yorkers to work at the technology and engineering firms of tomorrow.”
The CUNY program will also serve as a model for the IN2NYC system, which will be rolled out in public and private schools across the boroughs. In this first iteration, entrepreneurs will have to base their businesses in CUNY incubators. Penny Abeywardena, of the Mayor’s Office for International Affairs Commissioner, said the relationship between the university and the entrepreneurs will benefit students “by training them on how to launch their own businesses.”
New York City has the highest population of international students in the United States and immigrants play a huge role in the city’s economy. IN2NYC is intended to give something back to these contributors by helping them navigate challenging visa laws and giving them channels to access work visas through their relationships with CUNY incubators. IN2NYC will begin accepting applications later this year.
