The Capital in the Community Fund Empowers Black and Brown Entrepreneurs
Written by Cecilia Seiter
No matter who they are, entrepreneurs need capital to build thriving businesses—it’s as simple as that. Yet Black and Brown entrepreneurs are disproportionately prevented from accessing this capital, which directly impacts their ability to expand their entrepreneurship, build wealth, and positively impact their own communities.
At ESO, we work to eliminate these systemic barriers to access by providing capital funding for Black and Brown-owned businesses. Because we know how common it is for our entrepreneurs to hear “no,” we’re here to be Your First Yes. To date, we’ve distributed $3.2 million across 63 businesses, and we’re not stopping there. Since the fund launched last May, we’ve remained committed to continuing our support and positively impacting our community with capital.
Our entrepreneurs secure funding directly through our Capital in the Community Fund (CICF). The fund is designed to provide the first investment in ESO businesses with non-dilutive, zero to low-interest capital from $5,000 - $100,000.
Let’s take a closer look at how it works.
CICF: putting capital back into our communities
CICF funding is available to entrepreneurs who have successfully completed an ESO Business Incubator Program. Entrepreneurs from all industries have tapped into the CICF, spanning retail, healthcare, administrative services, and everything in between. Moreover, 89% of the businesses funded by the CICF had no previous funding from outside lenders.
Funding through the CICF is available via three financial products. Those are:
Forever Forward, which provides between $5,000 - $10,000 at a 0% financing rate.
Golden Ticket, which provides between $10,000 - $15,000 at a 5% financing rate.
Financial Freedom, which provides $50,000 - $100,000 at a 7% financing rate.
Our finance rates are significantly lower than a typical small business loan, and we offer more flexible repayment plans. Starting at 0% up to $10,000, we strive to make capital accessible and affordable for our community, ensuring no one is left behind. Check out what some of our entrepreneurs have to say about their experience with the CICF.
Rockridge, Randy Wells
Rockridge is a menswear line founded by Randy Wells. Randy is a creative director and fashion industry veteran who’s spearheaded creative visions at brands like Ecko and Dockers. Rockridge is his own community-inspired brand aimed at elevating the style of the modern entrepreneur. With funding from the CICF, Randy was able to open a retail shop for the holidays, hire staff, and reach new customers to continue expanding the business. In the next five years, Randy says he sees Rockridge ballooning to a $20M business with the help of community funds like ESO’s.
Cook and Run
Marisa Gittens is the founder of Cook and Run, a private chef and catering services company. She began her business in 2016 by kicking off a few private chef events on her own. By the end of 2022, Cook and Run had expanded to become a million-dollar business.. But it wasn’t an easy journey—Marisa was often denied access to capital at every turn. Without a loan, she had to tap into her own hard-earned resources to sustain her business and open her newest venture, Cafe Noir. The CICF changed that
“The program helped me organize my thoughts and make achievable milestones in my business plan that enabled me to grow. The people of ESO have given me guidance and resources that have opened up new doors and avenues of revenue. And last but not least, the fund gave me enough money to open up and operate our new cafe for its first 6 months,” Marisa said.
Learn more about the Capital in the Community Fund and our entrepreneurs on our portfolio, or check out our latest episodes of our podcast, Build Where You Are.
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