Vice President Harris Announces Groundbreaking Awards to Boost Entrepreneurs in Durham’s Historic Black Wall Street

by Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent @StacyBrownMedia 03/01/2024

Vice President Kamala Harris, accompanied by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo and North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, plan to unveil the allocation of $32 million through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The initiative’s goal is to support women- and minority-led venture capital funds, providing a much-needed boost to historically underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs. The announcement culminated the Biden-Harris Administration’s fourth Investing in America tour.

Officials said the investment, a crucial component of the American Rescue Plan, is anticipated to catalyze an additional $60 million in private investment, resulting in a total financial infusion exceeding $90 million, primarily supporting women- and minority-owned businesses in North Carolina. Officials said the administration’s overarching goal is to ensure that equity capital investments become accessible to entrepreneurs nationwide, breaking barriers for businesses led by individuals from Black, Hispanic, veteran, and women communities and those in rural areas.

President Biden and Vice President Harris have now overseen the three most robust years in history for new small business applications, with Black business ownership experiencing its fastest growth in three decades.

The announcement aligns with the American Rescue Plan’s broader mission, leveraging over $30 billion in equity-based financing for small businesses nationally. A total of 46 states and territories are committing nearly $3 billion from the Treasury Department’s SSBCI to equity-based financing programs, including a substantial commitment of over $1.4 billion through partnerships with private venture capital funds, constituting the single most significant federal funding infusion for equity participation in early-stage small businesses in history.

The ten selected firms in North Carolina include Nex Cubed, renowned for its Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Founders Fund. By investing $120,000 in each chosen startup and offering devoted executive-level support from a paid advisor, Nex Cubed facilitates the beginning and growth of entrepreneurial ventures run by alums, students, and faculty from HBCUs.

It also includes RevTech Labs, a majority female and Latina-owned entrepreneurship center, accelerator, and venture fund that prioritizes support for traditionally underrepresented founders in financial, health, and insurance technologies. RevTech plans to invest in over 200 early-stage companies and provides support as an accelerator, with 350 mentors and subject matter experts available to ensure success.

“Today’s actions build on historic investment steps the Biden-Harris administration has already taken to support small businesses, particularly those seeking equity and financing investments,” administration officials said. The White House noted that reversing the previous administration’s policies, Biden and Harris made small business support more equitable, instituting a 14-day period during which only businesses with fewer than 20 employees could apply for relief. They noted research, which shows the reforms helped increase loans to small businesses in low- to moderate-income communities by 62 percent and expanded lending to the smallest businesses by 35 percent.

Officials added that the historic $10 billion SSBCI, which alone could leverage up to $100 billion in private financing for 100,000 small businesses over the next decade, is a testament to the administration’s commitment to supporting small businesses. The funding is in addition to the $12 billion in funding to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Deposit Institutions, expanding access to capital for small businesses and consumers through programs such as the Emergency Capital Investment Program (ECIP), the CDFI Rapid Response Program, and the CDFI Equitable Recovery Program.

In just three years, there have been a record 16 million new business applications because of the Investing in America strategy under the administration, which has aided in a historic recovery and provided support through the American Rescue Plan. Administration officials said small business growth has been robust among Black and Hispanic entrepreneurs, with Black business ownership doubling and Hispanic business ownership up 40% since 2019. Black and Hispanic families’ median wealth has risen to all-time highs during the current administration.

The Biden-Harris administration has also taken substantial steps to support small businesses through various initiatives, including the Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) Capital Readiness Program, federal research and development funds for innovative small businesses, and the expansion of Regional Innovation Clusters, among others. The White House said these efforts have resulted in record gains in lending to Black, Latino, Native American, AAPI, women, and veteran entrepreneurs.