The award is expected to bring total early-stage investment to more than $90 million … [+]
Author: Rhett Battle
On March 1, Vice President Kamala Harris announced that $32 million in federal investment will be awarded to 10 minority- and women-led venture capital firms located on historically black Wall Street in Durham, North Carolina. The award is expected to bring his total investment in early-stage small businesses in the state to more than $90 million. These funds from the American Rescue Plan are part of an effort to make equity investments available to traditionally underserved small businesses and entrepreneurs.
An additional $60 million in private investment is expected with the announcement of funding through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) by Vice President Harris, Deputy Treasurer Wally Adeyemo, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. SSBCI helps make this type of investment possible. Originally established in 2010, it provides funding to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and tribal governments for programs that increase lending and investment to small businesses. The American Rescue Plan will expand his SSBCI to provide $10 billion in assistance and is expected to foster up to $10 in private investment for every $1 in SSBCI capital funds.
You may be wondering how such private investment can occur. The answer in North Carolina and other states is that SSBCI funding recipients are also passionate and skilled at raising private funds. For example, one of his recent donors, Symphonic Capital, is an early-stage fund that invests in companies that close the health and wealth access gap. Another venture, Wocstar Capital, focuses on creating wealth in communities of color by supporting and training women entrepreneurs of color and diverse technology teams.
RevTechLabs is a majority-female and Latina-owned entrepreneurship center and accelerator with over 200 startups featuring traditionally underrepresented founders in financial, health, and insurance technology. We plan to invest in early stage companies. Additionally, LeVert Ventures is an early-stage venture capital fund that invests in next-generation technologies that have the potential to transform the agricultural technology industry.
Black business ownership is increasing at the fastest pace in 30 years, with more small business filings in the past three years than in any other three-year period in U.S. history. Investments like this one in North Carolina and other states will help continue to fuel this success.
