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Pathways to Capital

Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship

Small businesses are the heartbeat of our the economy. They account for almost nearly half of our US GDP and employ nearly almost half of all private-sector workers. Businesses owned by Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Individuals (SEDI businesses) are the fastest-growing segment of the small- business market, yet they often lack adequate access to growth capital. The Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (IIE) is a national effort to expand access to capital for SEDI businesses through public-private collaborations.

BusinessWire

The Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship Has a New Home at the Milken Institute

Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (IIE) has deployed over $10 million in funding to support capacity building and create opportunities for more inclusive program design and delivery. To date, IIE has secured over $177M in loans, loan matches, grants, and private capital for underserved small businesses and emerging fund managers. With the successful completion of the 18-month pilot, the Milken Institute now serves as IIE’s new home.

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Outcomes

small businesses reached directly

suppliers reached with funding readiness resources

suppliers reached with pipeline development activities

About IIE

Our History

Announced in October 2022, the Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (IIE) is a national effort to expand access to capital for small businesses owned by people of color. IIE harnesses the power of public-private collaboration to ensure the equitable implementation of the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s $10 billion State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), 40% of which is designated for businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SEDI). With leverage as a built-in strategy, every SSBCI dollar deployed is designed to catalyze $10 in private investment, with a 1:1 match required.

Authorized under the American Rescue Plan, SSBCI is primed to be the most significant small business program in US history. And its full potential can only be realized through public-private collaboration. Through IIE, the corporate and philanthropic investors can support capacity building, fuel innovative strategies and products, and invest the required matching capital that will ultimately strengthen the small business ecosystem, advance racial equity, and transform communities.

IIE’s 18-month pilot was incubated by Hyphen, a leading national public-private partnership accelerator. The initiative’s implementation partners include: Aspen Institute’s Business Ownership Initiative, Founders First Capital Partners, JumpStart, Mission Driven Finance, Next Street, Nowak Metro Finance Lab, and Scale Link.

Starting in July 2024, the Milken Institute began serving as IIE’s new home.

IIE Pilot Impact Numbers

Deployed over $10M in direct funding
Secured over $177M in loans, loan matches, grants, and private capital
Reached 3,172 small businesses to date
Provided 2,067 hours of training and technical assistance to 836 staff
Launched investment vehicles to address the need for match capital to underserved entrepreneurs, including the Indigenous Futures Fund in partnership with Mission Driven Finance
Assisted with the launch of the California Small Business Loan Match, which has had 5.8M impressions in just two months.

SSBCI Deployment Dashboard

This workbook provides information and analysis of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) 2.0, re-authorized and funded by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. The workbook provides an overview of program status and provides information on loans and investments supported by SSBCI.

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Our Work

IIE Knowledge Network

At the national level, the IIE program operates a platform open to all small-business stakeholders to share knowledge, tools, and resources. Through IIE implementation partners, the program advances product and process improvements to increase capital flow towards SEDI-owned small businesses and offers convenings and go-to-market solutions. These include lender matchmaking and technical assistance to build awareness and capacity among both borrowers and lenders, as well as catalytic capital raising to de-risk investments.

Jurisdictional Engagement

The IIE program engages interested jurisdictions to identify their small-business impact goals, opportunities, and challenges. In select markets, the program provides deep, tailored support to stakeholders across the capital pipeline by building awareness and capacity, raising funds, and strengthening the state- and local-level small business ecosystem.