Minority-owned businesses in Detroit are getting a big boost from J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Both organizations have teamed up to offer minority-owned businesses, or businesses who hire primarily minorities, a $6.5 million lending program. The program is called The Entrepreneurs of Color Fund.
The Entrepreneurs of Color Fund
The fund will cover both short- and long-term loans of $50,000 to $150,000. In addition, the program will fund technical assistance such as networking, marketing, business plan development and cash-flow management. Eligible businesses must be either owned by people of color or hire predominately (more than half) people of color.
Good news
The new funding program is good news to Detroit's 32,000 minority-owned small businesses. It is an important part of Detroit's $100 million commitment to the city's economic recovery. Providing the additional financing for general contractors, small retailers, neighborhood service businesses and other Detroit small businesses will "have the potential to reduce unemployment and expand opportunity for Detroiters,” stated a Chase representative.
Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan agrees, stating, “This new program fits perfectly with what our administration is doing.....to make sure Detroit residents who want to start a business in their city have access to the capital and support they need to be successful.”
For more details and/or to apply, visit www.wkkf.org/grants/grant/2015/08/ddf-entrepreneurs-of-color-fund-3031704