Miami is pushing to become a global startup hub centered on Latin America, Forbes is reporting.

They city hosted a start-up conference in May featuring Miami-born star Pitbull, venture investor Steve Case, and Imogen Heap, a classically trained English singer.

Over 16,000 people came from 40 counties, according to Forbes. It was the city’s latest attempt to become a global startup hub.

“We have our fair share of challenges,” says Felice Gorordo, CEO of eMerge Americas, which put on the startup show. “Part of our secret sauce is that we’re a city built by immigrants. Miami is a very young city.

“But we have the grit and resiliency of those people. Miami is a startup in and of itself. If you’re willing to roll up your sleeves, you can make it here.”

Between 2010 and 2014, Miami was only one of five metro areas that accounted for 50% of all startups in the U.S., Forbes reported, attributing the information to the Economic Innovation Group.

And South Florida ranked first in startup activity in the U.S. in 2017, Forbes noted. It attributed the information to the Economic Innovation Group.

But not everyone agrees that Miami can compete as a startup on a global scale. Sociologist Alejandro Portes maintained Miami can’t be a startup hub because it lacks top-notch universities.

“Miami does not compete with Silicon Valley or Austin or even the Research Triangle in technological innovation,” he told Citylab. “There is no Stanford, no University of Texas, no University of North Carolina to anchor that kind of tech talent production.”