Wells Fargo Announces CDFI-Owned Loan Fund Geared Toward Latinx Small Businesses
On November 14, the Wells Fargo Foundation announced a historic $10 million grant to OFN member NALCAB (National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders) to support growth-oriented lending to minority-owned businesses nationwide through a network of Latinx-led nonprofit business lenders. The new Acceso Loan Fund is designed to help diverse entrepreneurs scale to a greater size—expanding their revenue, impact on the economy, and ability to provide jobs.
By sharing the grant funds equally, NALCAB, fellow OFN member LiftFund, and each of ten other CDFI partners in the NALCAB network will be co-owners of the fund. The Acceso Loan Fund will provide small business loans in the range of $50,000–$500,000.
“The CDFI sector offers few, if any, truly national strategies for deploying capital to the large, fast-growing Latino small business market,” said Noel Poyo, executive director of NALCAB. “No single NALCAB Network lender could have presented this powerful value proposition alone, but collectively, this is the most credible and scalable national investment opportunity available to grant makers and capital providers seeking to invest in Latino small business growth.”
In addition to NALCAB and LiftFund, the following 10 NALCAB Network business lenders, all certified CDFIs and several OFN members, will participate as equity holders of the Fund.
- Opportunity Fund (CA)
- Latino Economic Development Center (DC and MD)
- FINANTA (Philadelphia region)
- Bankers Small Business CDC of California – an affiliate of CDC Small Business Finance (CA)
- Fondo Adelante – an affiliate of Mission Economic Development Agency (San Francisco)
- Préstamos CDFI – an affiliate of CPLC (AZ, NM, TX)
- Rural Community Development Resources (Yakima County, WA)
- Colorado Housing Enterprises – an affiliate of Community Resources and Housing Development Corporation (CO)
- TRP Lending – an affiliate of The Resurrection Project (Greater Chicago)
- Impacto Fund – an affiliate of Hispanic Economic Development Corporation (Kansas City region, MO & KS)
“Small business growth requires greater collaboration and innovation when it comes to access to capital,” said Brandee McHale, president of the Wells Fargo Foundation. “NALCAB and its partners have created a first-of-its-kind loan fund that truly establishes a national network of lenders looking to help smaller companies grow to the next level. We hope that our grant inspires others to join the fund and shows entrepreneurs that we believe in them and their growth potential.”
The $10 million grant is part of Wells Fargo’s Diverse Community Capital program, a five-year initiative to grow diverse small businesses, and it is the largest grant to date within the program.
Read the full press release.