A series of programs and projects designed to help underserved entrepreneurs grow their businesses are in line for up to $125 million in funding, the Department of Commerce has just announced.
The Capital Readiness Program, which itself is being funded via the Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative, is designed to help minority small businesses, strengthening them by providing capital for job creation.
The purpose of the program, said Donald Cravins, Jr., Under Secretary of Commerce, “is to provide every American entrepreneur with an equitable shot at building a successful business.”
Cravins, in a statement, additionally noted that overall, the Biden Administration is currently investing “$10 billion to support small businesses and empower them to access the capital needed to invest in job-creating opportunities.”
According to the White House, the Capital Readiness Program is the “largest-ever direct Federal investment in small business incubators and accelerators of its kind.”
At present, 43 non-profit and community-based groups, as well as private sector entities and institutions of higher education, are in line for Capital Readiness Program funding.
Recipients include the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Foundation, which is receiving $3 million to put together a business accelerator and incubator program to help underserved entrepreneurs gain access to capital in Arizona, Nevada, and California.
In announcing the Capital Readiness Program late last year, Cravins remarked that the “greatest obstacle facing disadvantaged entrepreneurs, especially women, is access.”
By Garry Boulard
