Christopher Gil
Associate Director of Marketing and Communications
Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
(415) 282-3334 ext. 152
cgil@medasf.org
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 14, 2019
MEDA Announces Launch of Largest National Loan Fund for the Growth of Latino-Owned Small Businesses, in Partnership with NALCAB and Wells Fargo
$10 million Wells Fargo Foundation grant is designed to help entrepreneurs scale via Acceso Loan Fund
San Francisco — The Wells Fargo Foundation has made a historic $10 million grant to the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB) and select partners, including Fondo Adelante, to support growth-oriented lending to minority-owned businesses nationwide through a network of Latino-led nonprofit business lenders. The new Acceso Loan Fund is designed to help diverse entrepreneurs scale, expanding their revenue, impact on the economy and ability to provide jobs.
By equally sharing the grant funds, NALCAB, LiftFund, Fondo Adelante and nine other Community Development Financial Institutions (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 Acceso Loan Fund is a powerful addition to the ecosystem of support for Latino-owned small businesses in the Bay Area,” said Fondo Adelante Director Nathanial Owen. “By combining the resources of numerous NALCAB Network lenders across the country, we will be able to more effectively meet the financing needs of our growing small businesses right here in our own community.”
“The CDFI sector offers few, if any, truly national strategies for deploying capital to the large, fast-growing Latino small-business market,” said NALCAB Executive Director Noel Poyo,. “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.”
The Fund will engage in two related lines of business:
- Lending directly to small businesses, referred by members of the NALCAB Network, that provide small-business development services, targeting an average loan size of $160,000; and
- Purchasing portfolios of small-business loans, of similar size and character, from NALCAB Network lenders.
“Small business growth requires greater collaboration and innovation when it comes to access to capital,” explained Wells Fargo Foundation President Brandee McHale. “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. Over the next year, MEDA’s Fondo Adelante and other NALCAB Network members will raise debt capital to expand the fund to a total of $30 million.
Over the course of the first three years, the Acceso Loan Fund will deploy over $27 million in loans, supporting the growth of approximately 186 small businesses, while producing more than 500 jobs. More than 60 percent of the borrowers will be Latino and more than 80 percent will be minorities. Additionally, more than 60 percent of the borrowers will be businesses with less than $1 million in annual revenue.
The following 10 NALCAB Network business lenders, all certified CDFIs, will participate as equity holders of the Fund.
- Opportunity Fund (Calif.)
- Latino Economic Development Center (Washington D.C. and Md.)
- FINANTA (Philadelphia region)
- Bankers Small Business CDC of California – an affiliate of CDC Small Business Finance (Calif)
- Fondo Adelante – an affiliate of Mission Economic Development Agency (San Francisco)
- Préstamos CDFI – an affiliate of CPLC (Ariz., N.M., Texas)
- Rural Community Development Resources (Yakima County, Wash.)
- Colorado Housing Enterprises – an affiliate of Community Resources and Housing Development Corporation (Colo.)
- TRP Lending – an affiliate of The Resurrection Project (Greater Chicago)
- Impacto Fund – an affiliate of Hispanic Economic Development Corporation (Kansas City region, Mo. and Kan.)
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About Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
Founded in 1973, MEDA is a nonprofit that provides services to nearly 7,300 low-income people annually. Programs include financial capability coaching; business technical assistance; housing and homeownership counseling; affordable housing development; business and real estate lending through its subsidiary CDFI; workforce development training and career placement; and free tax preparation.
medasf.org
About National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders (NALCAB)
NALCAB works to strengthen the economy by advancing economic mobility in Latino communities. NALCAB’s advocacy and work in equitable neighborhood development, financial capability, and small business development advances economic mobility for low and moderate-income people.
nalcab.org
About Wells Fargo
Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) provides banking, investment and mortgage products and services, as well as consumer and commercial finance, through 7,500 locations, more than 13,000 ATMs and the internet (wellsfargo.com). With approximately 261,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. With its corporate philanthropy, Wells Fargo aims to pave a path to stability and financial success for underserved communities by focusing on housing affordability, small-business growth and financial health, among other local community needs. In 2018, Wells Fargo donated $444 million to nearly 11,000 nonprofits.
wellsfargo.com/impact
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