Launch of
New, Three-Year Education Effort to Expand Small Business
Lending Capacity
<VIRGINIA, MN>, May 12, 2011 – Opportunity Finance Network (OFN),
the nation’s leading network of community development financial
institutions (CDFIs), and The Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s 10,000
Small Businesses Initiative announced that the Northeast
Entrepreneur Fund is one of the 21 distinguished participants of
the 10,000 Small Businesses CDFI Growth Collaborative. The
Entrepreneur Fund was selected from a pool of more than 50
applicants vying for a space in this innovative educational
experience.
“Since 2008, the Entrepreneur Fund has responded to a strong
increase in the demand for financing with more and larger loans.
Given the growth we anticipate in coming years, the CDFI Growth
Collaborative provides us the opportunity to access
best-practice tools, new products, policies, and efficient
procedures developed by partner CDFIs and OFN. By strengthening
our lending, along with the support we provide entrepreneurs
through the Greenstone Group and the Women’s Business Center, we
expect to help more entrepreneurs build strong and profitable
businesses,” said Mary Mathews, Northeast Entrepreneur Fund CEO.
The CDFI Growth Collaborative is a three-year program that will
provide participating CDFIs with a unique, “tuition paid”
learning program to help CDFI loan funds address the needs of
small businesses in underserved communities across the country.
By participating in it the Entrepreneur Fund will strengthen its
capacity to lend to small businesses through practical peer
learning opportunities. The CDFI industry will benefit from new
technical assistance and resources published as a result of the
program.
“CDFIs are an important vehicle through which the Goldman Sachs
10,000 Small Businesses initiative continues to spur and support
lending to small businesses in underserved communities across
the U.S.,” said Alicia Glen, Managing Director and head of the
Urban Investment Group at Goldman Sachs. “Through a learning
network of in-person peer exchanges and online education
workshops, the CDFI Growth Collaborative will help CDFIs develop
both the capacity and knowledge to grow their small business
lending portfolio and stimulate the growth of more small
businesses in their communities.”
CDFI loan funds participating in this innovative, new program
will enjoy learning opportunities including:
Information exchanges, meetings, online learning, and networking
opportunities
-
Opportunity
to apply for one-on-one or small-group consulting services
-
Focused
training on topics of importance to the Collaborative
-
Discussions/development of tools, policies, and best
practices
-
Opportunity
to present on behalf of the Collaborative at the OFN
Conference
“OFN
congratulates the Entrepreneur Fund for being selected as one of
the CDFI loan funds participating in the10,000 Small Businesses
CDFI Growth Collaborative. While the current outlook for small
business financing remains challenging, we know that CDFI small
business lending is vital to economic growth in distressed
markets. This innovative, new program will certainly contribute
to the body of small business financing knowledge for the
industry, and we expect participants to incorporate new learning
that will benefit the low-wealth and low-income communities they
serve,” said Mark Pinsky, President and CEO of OFN.
CDFIs not participating in the Collaborative can also benefit
from this program by: downloading new reports being published by
OFN, such as the free technical assistance memo; attending Small
Business sessions sponsored by Goldman Sachs at the annual OFN
Conference; and by participating in small business-focused
conference calls.
~
Northeast Entrepreneur Fund and its Greenstone Group
initiative help people start and grow successful businesses in
northeastern Minnesota and northwestern Wisconsin by providing
training, consulting, coaching and financing to emerging and
small businesses. Since 1989, the organization has helped start,
stabilize or expand more than 1,200 businesses; help create or
retain over 3,500 jobs; provided $12 million in loans to nearly
500 businesses; and served 11,000 people through its training,
consulting and lending programs. More than 85% of business
owners who receive assistance from the Entrepreneur Fund are
still in business two years later. To learn more, visit
www.entrepreneurfund.org.
Opportunity Finance Network (OFN), the leading network of
private financial institutions, creates growth that is good for
communities, investors, individuals, and the economy. Members of
OFN are community development financial institutions (CDFIs) who
deliver responsible lending to help low-wealth and low- income
communities join the economic mainstream. Opportunity Finance
Network originated more than $23.2 billion in financing in
non-conforming urban, rural, and Native communities through
2009, which generated or maintained 298,511 jobs; 60,261
businesses and microenterprises; 635,528 housing units; and
6,465 community facility projects. More information is available
at:
www.opportunityfinance.net
About the Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global investment
banking, securities and investment management firm that provides
a wide range of financial services to a substantial and
diversified client base that includes corporations, financial
institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.
Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and
maintains offices in all major financial centers around the
world.
10,000 Small Businesses is a $500 million initiative that will
unlock the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small
businesses across the United States through greater access to
business education, financial capital and business support
services. It is based on the broadly held view of leading
experts that a combination of education, capital, and support
services best addresses the barriers to growth for small
businesses. It is now operating in New York, Houston, New
Orleans, Long Beach and Los Angeles and will continue to expand
to communities across the country.