Roundup: Social distancing at City Hall, Nickelytics virtual Demo Day, Synapse resource center, economic impact

Today’s roundup includes news from Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Nickelytics and Synapse Florida.

In one of the few public gatherings since the Covid-19 pandemic began, St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Kriseman took to the steps of City Hall Tuesday morning to recognize Ramadan. The mayor read a proclamation while standing at least six feet away from other participants in the ceremony.

“As people of faith I know it has been particularly difficult to not congregate on our holy days, during our holy holidays. Whether we are Christians, Jews, Muslims, so often it is our faith that carries us through difficult times like these,” he said. “Our hearts as heavy as we do what’s right for the greater good and come together on these steps. It doesn’t feel natural and it’s not what our faith calls us to do, but it’s what science says is the best thing for our city and our community.”

April 23 marks the first day of the holy month of fasting, prayer and self-reflection for all Muslims throughout the world.

The Tampa Bay region could lose 218,000 jobs due to declines in consumer spending in the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new analysis from the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council.

The analysis also said residents could lose $20.9 billion in personal income, a 10.6 percent decline, and the area’s gross regional product could drop by 11.7 percent, or $20.98 billion.

“These initial estimates will, over time, be measured relative to official data, but this forecast gives us some immediate insight into the spill-over effects of decreased consumer spending on jobs and other broad economic indicators, due to necessary social distancing and safer at home regulations,” the regional planning council said in its report.

Nickelytics, an advertising technology company headquartered in Tampa, will take part in a virtual Demo Day on Thursday.

Nickelytics puts ads on vehicles and has technology that tracks and analyzes viewership.

Nickelytics is wrapping up its work in the Techstars Smart Mobility Accelerator, a program it was accepted into earlier this year before the pandemic became widespread.

The Techstars accelerator program began in January, initially in Turin, Italy. Now, building on the contacts made overseas, Nickelytics plans to expand in the European Union, Judah Longgrear, co-Founder and CEO, said in a news release.

The company has signed a partnership with WeTaxi, one of Italy’s fastest-growing taxi aggregator services, and a letter of intent with Dott, which offers shared e-scooters and e-bikes for short-distance travel.

Additionally, Winelivery, a rapidly growing Italian e-commerce platform that provides on-demand wine and beverage services throughout Italy, will be the Nickelytics, first Italian advertising client. They’re actively planning their first campaign once people begin to re-emerge from lockdown, the news release said.

Synapse Florida has launched Synapse Resources, a platform built for and built by the innovation community.

It was built in under two weeks, with Tracy Ingram, tech evangelist for Tampatechhire.com, taking a lead role in the creation of the platform, a news release said.

The platform allows users to share a need or a resource, to answer the call for support, and to connect.

It is a natural extension of the nonprofit’s mission ​to be the guide for Florida’s innovation community, helping them to easily find what they need and share what they have to accelerate successful and thriving economies.

Click here for Synapse Resources.