Mill Cities Community Investments Launches New Business Equity Investment Fund
New MCCI fund aims to level the playing field for underserved small business owners
Former Banner Editor and Publisher Melvin B. Miller with new owners Ron Mitchell (left) and Andre Stark (right) at the Banner’s Dorchester office. Photo Source: Erint Images
Mill Cities Community Investments (MCCI) Launches New Black-led Business Equity Investment Fund New MCCI fund aims to level the playing field for underserved small business owners
LAWRENCE, MA, May 5, 2023 –With a mission to grow the assets and wealth of historically disinvested individuals and their communities, Mill Cities Community Investments (MCCI) is proud to announce the launch of its Business Equity Investment Fund, which supports business owners with patient, longer-term financing capital. MCCI, Massachusetts’ first Black-led community development financing institution (CDFI), works closely with clients and community leaders to develop innovative ways to deliver loans, investments, and financial services. Through the Fund, MCCI purchases company stock to support the long-term growth and development of a business as an equity investment.
Equity investment is a critical driving force of growth for businesses, but minority and women entrepreneurs have historically been locked out of this finance resource. According to Crunchbase, less than 2.4% of the total U.S. venture capital funding went to Black- or Latino-led startups. By trading company stocks, entrepreneurs get cash to hire, grow, innovate, and do much more. Unlike loans, equity does not require immediate repayment, so business owners can reinvest cash right back into their business.
“Our commitment in launching the Business Equity Investment Fund is to ensure that our entrepreneurs have fair access to diverse financial resources so that they can thrive, create opportunity, generate wealth, and drive broader economic growth across the state,” shared Anthony Rust, MCCI Business Equity Finance Ecosystem director and manager for the Fund.
MCCI closed its first Business Equity Investment Fund deal with Black-led Mitchell-Stark Enterprises (MSE) for the acquisition of the Bay State Banner, the longest running Black-owned newspaper in New England, which had been published by Melvin B. Miller since 1965 until MSE’s acquisition. “We are very happy that MCCI chose us to be the first participant of this new fund. This helped us secure the funding necessary to take advantage of a great opportunity to purchase and develop this historic community resource,” said Ronald D. Mitchell, MSE president and CEO. “The support was vital, not only by providing capital through the purchase of our company stock but also with their (MCCI’s) strategic council and guidance during our company’s development. MCCI’s Business Equity Investment Fund is a one-of-a-kind game changer and will help develop many more minority and women owned businesses throughout Massachusetts.”
Alongside MCCI, the Boston Foundation has been a significant partner in supporting the Fund by providing critical source capital. “For communities of color, flexible financing and patient capital are essential tools for overcoming systemic challenges and allowing businesses of color to succeed,” said Orlando Watkins, Boston Foundation’s vice president and chief program officer. “It is imperative that we identify and leverage new avenues beyond traditional philanthropy to build economic opportunities for these valued businesses.”
“MCCI is striving to create solutions to address the capital gaps that lead to persistent undercapitalization of businesses owned by people of color and women. The wealth gap continues to be a root problem in accessing capital, separating people of color from whites who simply have more access to equity,” shared Malia Lazu, The Lazu Group CEO and founder, and MCCI board chair.
About Mill Cities Community Investments (MCCI): Founded in 2008 by Latino leaders to bridge the capital access gap in low-to-moderate income and under-resourced communities, MCCI is headquartered in Lawrence, MA and serves populations statewide and across the Merrimack Valley. MCCI is a community development financial institution (CDFI.) As a financing and lending alternative for businesses and homeowners, MCCI specializes in identifying and providing innovative solutions for capital needs and being flexible with their underwriting process.
In 2022, the Foundation for Business Equity (FBE), an award-winning Boston-based organization working to scale businesses of color, merged with MCCI, a significant step in expanding opportunities for accessing growth capital and advancing capacity to create stronger economic mobility in our target communities. To learn more about MCCI, visit https://mccinvest.org/. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
Media contact: Diana Ubiñas Mill Cities Community Investments [email protected] 978-252-2615
NECTAR COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS PROVIDES FIRST LOANS TO RHODE ISLAND BUSINESSES
Nectar Community Investments, a community development financial institution (CDFI), today announced its first set of financings for four Providence small businesses: Dolce & Salato, Ja Patty, Nuñez, and Stack House. All four businesses are using the funds to make a positive impact in the community by opening new spaces, expanding their operations or renovating existing facilities.
“Rhode Island is a dynamic state with a thriving small business landscape, and we’re excited to join the ecosystem and offer our skills and resources to its innovative entrepreneurs,” said Nectar Executive Director Glynn Lloyd. “We look forward to watching Dolce & Salato, Ja Patty, Nuñez and Stack House continue to grow and become anchors of their Providence neighborhoods.”
Nectar specializes in providing flexible growth capital, technical assistance, and strategic advisory services to small business owners and homeowners in historically disinvested communities. In various reports, Rhode Island-based researchers had identified gaps in the state’s economic ecosystem for this type of support, so Nectar joined forces with ecosystem collaborators in early 2024 to expand our network and increase awareness of new capital opportunities for small businesses. Nectar received crucial support from the Rhode Island Foundation to expand its …
Thank you to all who joined us at Artists for Humanity in Boston! Looking around the room, we were incredibly grateful for the community who gathered there to connect, persevere, resist, build, learn and celebrate. With the upheaval and changes happening around us, these types of events feel essential in our pursuit of a future full of economic justice. Thank you again for being there.
A huge congratulations to our Business Equity Initiative cohorts on their official graduation last night. Special thanks to Karilyn Crockett for her informative, thought-provoking presentation on how history provides lessons to achieve our mission today. As she put it, we are the waymakers — the ones who make a path, who tell the truth, who make change happen.
We’re taking that energy into the months and years to come. Let’s embrace our essence and double down on our work as waymakers. We’ll see you in the work.
Nectar Community Investments, with the Boston Foundation and the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, provided a $900,000 financing package for construction and launch of a Vicente’s Supermarket branch at 452 Mount Pleasant St.
Vicente’s estimates the store has created about 30 construction jobs through 10 contractors, most owned by people of color.
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