Determined to help all small businesses, Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives Micro Finance Group, a nonprofit Chicago lender, announced it is changing its name to Greenwood Archer Capital (GAC) and doubling down on its past investment in the Black community. The goal is to help grow Black-owned small businesses that have been denied capital or are without access to commercial investment and doubling its lending capacity to Black entrepreneurs.
During a virtual meeting of investors, borrowers and community leaders, Erica King, President of Greenwood Archer Capital, said, “Our new name pays homage to Black Wall Street in Tulsa during the 1920s and its thriving business community at the intersection of Greenwood and Archer. Building on that legacy, GAC intends to be a force for tackling systemic racism and building wealth and equity by providing Black businesses with access to needed financial resources,” added King.
One of the ways GAC is doing that is through innovative small business credit solutions that are designed to level the playing field for Black small businesses. For example, its PERC program provides financial capital and support to previously incarcerated individuals seeking financial empowerment through entrepreneurship. On the other end, its “Your Forte, Our Finance,” a GAC lending initiative, provides 100% financing and low interest rate loans of up to $200,000 for Black-owned businesses seeking to purchase commercial real estate. Additionally, as part of the organization’s new directions, GAC announced that it intends to also provide equity funding to Black-owned small businesses to show the impact of equity investments on the development and growth of disadvantaged Black businesses.
Thanks to millions of dollars in additional lending and investment capital provided by Wells Fargo, PayPal, SC Johnson, U.S. Bank, PNC and others, GAC is doubling its loan capacity from $100,000 to $200,000 to qualified small business owners.
