Fintech
Morgan State Secures $1 Million in Fintech Research Funding
Morgan State University received a three-year, $1.05 million grant this month from Ripple, a blockchain and cryptocurrency solutions company based in San Francisco.
The university is Ripple’s only historically black college and university University research initiative on blockchainwhich supports more than 50 universities internationally, many of which Ivy League and elite schools.
Ripple’s latest grant, which follows its first round of funding to Morgan in 2019, provides $350,000 per year for three years for research, programming and partnerships with other HBCUs. University officials say it will help Morgan and Baltimore pursue their goals of becoming an emerging tech hub.
“We want to put HBCUs at the forefront of all these cutting-edge developments,” said Ali Emdad, Morgan State’s interim dean of business and management and founding director of the National Center for the Study of Blockchain and FinTech, which will administer the Ripple of money. “It’s not a huge amount, but we maximize it by bringing people into one place and taking them through some learning experiences that otherwise wouldn’t be possible.”
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The University he started his National FinTech Center in 2018, inspired by students’ desire to learn more about blockchain and cryptocurrency as its popularity began to rise in 2015, Emdad said.
Since then, Morgan has become the hub of the HBCU Blockchain and FinTech Network and its annual conference. Ripple’s grant will help fund that event by providing scholarships for students at Morgan and other HBCUs to attend.
The grant will too Support faculty research in blockchain, artificial intelligence, and machine learning through $10,000 grants provide funding for workshops on XRP Ledger, a public blockchain, and MorganHacks, a weekend hackathon showcasing students’ innovative software and hardware projects.
Ripple, Accenture and Hyperledger are among the many companies they help finance Morgan’s FinTech Center, according to its website. The nonprofit Blockchain Association, a nonprofit cryptocurrency industry trade group, also provides funding.
Morgan State University launched its National FinTech Center in 2018 and recently received a $1 million grant from Ripple. (Morgan State University)
Fintech as an industry has grown exponentially as the days of walking into a bank to deposit a check fade. From everyday banking to investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, almost everything can be done through a phone app.
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These apps are powered by financial technology, or “fintech,” that enhances, evolves, and automates digital transactions such as payments, investments, banking and loans. Fintech also includes blockchain, cryptocurrency and some aspects of cybersecurity.
The industry is accountable From 150 to 205 billion dollarsor 5%, of the global banking sector’s more than $6.5 trillion in net revenues, according to McKinsey & Company, which also says it has the potential reach $400 billion in revenue by 2028.
Business and consumer demand for this type of technology is expected to increase. Morgan’s rapid planning of its fintech center has allowed it to be the only HBCU to keep pace with other universities and the industry.
Supporters of technology and entrepreneurship hope Baltimore becomes an emerging tech hub. According to one survey, there are nearly 500 startups in the Baltimore metropolitan area, including more than 300 in the city itself. UpSurge Baltimore’s 2024 Technology Ecosystem Report. UpSurge promotes startups, fosters diversity, and seeks to create business capital opportunities for tech companies and entrepreneurs.
Last year, the Baltimore area it was among 31 communities designated regional federal hub for innovation and technology. Healthcare and IT-focused startups dominate in Baltimore, in line with the focus of the technological hub.
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But advocates hope fintech grows in Baltimore.
“I’m really excited that Morgan State is one of those research universities,” said Kory Bailey, CEO of UpSurge Baltimore. “My hope is that the students and faculty participating in this research will have great ideas that we can commercialize and grow into companies and startups right here in Baltimore.”
In 2019, Morgan received an average of multi-year, multi-millionaire grant from Ripple through the company’s University Blockchain Research Initiative. Neither Ripple nor Emdad disclosed the amount of the initial grant.
Bria Overs covers business at The Baltimore Banner.
