Morgan Stanley Sponsors PowerMoves.NOLA 2nd Annual National Conference, Connecting High-Growth Minority-Owned Startups With Leading Investors

NEW ORLEANS, June 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- PowerMoves.NOLA is pleased to announce Morgan Stanley will serve as Presenting Sponsor of the 2nd Annual PowerMoves.NOLA National Conference where the country's premier emerging high growth and high tech entrepreneurs of color will meet in New Orleans on July 1-3, 2015. The three-day event is designed to connect nationally-sourced entrepreneurs with a preeminent network of advisors, experts, and investors. The announcement follows the highly successful launch and activation of [email protected] in April 2015, which was also sponsored by Morgan Stanley and featured venture capital pitch competitions, panel discussions and a PowerUp Boot Camp for local and nationally recruited entrepreneurs of color.

"We are pleased to build on the success of [email protected] by expanding the breadth of our partnership to include the PowerMoves.NOLA National Conference and support the organization's mission to increase the number of minority-owned, venture-backed companies in high growth sectors across the country," said Carla Harris, Vice Chairman, Global Wealth Management, Managing Director and Senior Client Advisor at Morgan Stanley.

The event is held alongside the 2015 ESSENCE Festival® presented by Coca-Cola® in New Orleans. From boot camps to one-on-one investor meetings, PowerMoves.NOLA is designed to give entrepreneurs of color opportunities to promote their companies, network with advisors, and connect with the local and national startup communities.

"We are grateful to Morgan Stanley for their sponsorship and partnership," said Earl Robinson, the president of PowerMoves.NOLA. "Morgan Stanley's support will help us scale PowerMoves.NOLA to be able reach and support more of the nation's most talented entrepreneurs of color, and ultimately, increase the number of minority-owned companies in the U.S."

This year's conference will feature the Morgan Stanley Series A Pitch where five later-stage entrepreneurs will compete for a $25,000 cash prize. The pitch competition will be held on July 2 at 11 a.m. at Club XLIV in Champions Square in downtown New Orleans. In addition, Morgan Stanley is hosting the FinTech Showcase, which will feature five innovative debt capital markets and consumer loan startups sharing their business models to investors and business leaders. The showcase will be held on July 3 at 8:30 a.m. at the GNO, Inc office in the Energy Centre in downtown New Orleans.

ABOUT POWERMOVES.NOLA

PowerMoves.NOLA is a national initiative to deploy innovative ideas, fresh approaches, and an overall commitment to equity and diversity as a growth strategy to address the generational obstacles that prevent minority entrepreneurship. Leveraging the thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem, resources, and culture of New Orleans, PowerMoves.NOLA's mission is to increase the number of venture-backed minority-founded companies locally and nationally.

PowerMoves.NOLA is made possible through the generous support of its sponsors including Chevron as Founding Sponsor and Morgan Stanley as the Presenting Sponsor. Other major sponsors include Entergy, IBERIABANK, Liberty Bank, Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) and ESSENCE Festival® presented by Coca-Cola®.

In addition to the national conference, programs include City Ventures, PowerUp Boot Camps, and a fellowship.

More at powermovesnola.org.

MORGAN STANLEY

Morgan Stanley is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities, wealth management and investment management services. With offices in more than 43 countries, the Firm's employees serve clients worldwide including corporations, governments, institutions and individuals. For more information about Morgan Stanley, please visit www.morganstanley.com.

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SOURCE PowerMoves.NOLA

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