Equitable Capital Access Models

Small businesses are a keystone of a strong local economy. In 2014, small businesses with less than 100 employees provided nearly one-third of all private sector employment in the U.S.

Manufacturers are some of the most impactful among small businesses; for every $1 you invest in your local manufacturer, they generate $1.89 in the community through job creation and by working with other local businesses. Production jobs, or jobs where you create a physical good, still typically pay more than the living wage required to meet minimum standards of living in numerous U.S. cities.

To help these companies grow, new partnerships are needed to produce low-interest loans and lines of credit for urban manufacturers—particularly those which do not qualify for traditional bank services. This report gives examples of how policymakers, local financial institutions, nonprofits, and public-private partnerships are working together to create capital programs that target manufacturers and other businesses and entrepreneurs from communities that cannot access traditional capital.