The Northeastern Lab for Inclusive Entrepreneurship’s support of a promising venture is exemplified in collaboration between Ackeem Evans, founder of Election Bridge and a 2023 Inclusive Entrepreneur Fellow, and Mikhail Oet, one of the Lab’s faculty directors. Election Bridge is an innovative tech startup that has designed a civic network platform. This platform empowers organizations by enabling them to increase their capacity to capture critical data insights, which drive impactful and lasting change.
Evans, a visionary entrepreneur, is working closely with Oet to refine and enhance Election Bridge’s strategy and operations as part of the experiential project opportunities the Lab offers. Ackeem sees this collaboration as a transformative opportunity, saying, “This program has been a great opportunity to spark transformative growth and unlock new realms of research potential for our company. It’s not just about scalability but about fostering an environment where we can explore innovation. I’m excited to see the impact we can create by working collectively towards a common goal of civic innovation.”
Echoing Evans’ sentiment, Oet shares, “It’s been an exciting journey working with Ackeem. His vision for civic engagement aligns perfectly with our mission of fostering inclusive entrepreneurship. Through this collaboration, we hope to exemplify the potential of experiential learning at the Lab and underscore the transformative impact such partnerships can have on individual startups and broader communities alike.”
Further expanding on this, the Lab’s team focused on enhancing their connections with other Northeastern University initiatives like the Community-to-Community Impact Engine and the Open Classroom Initiative at the School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs. Oet sees these initiatives as potential sources of collaborative energy. “These programs harbor a wealth of potential collaborators passionate about community engagement and social problem-solving. We need to bridge this gap. By enabling students and faculty involved in these initiatives to work directly with the Lab, we can channel their energy and passion towards our mission of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. We aim to create a robust, inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem spanning the Providence-Boston-Portland corridor.”