
Key Takeaways from UMA's 2019 Regional Convening: St. Louis
Laying the Foundation for Innovative Capital Programs
In November 2019, UMA brought eleven community-based capital programs, and an advisory board of capital experts, to St. Louis from across the country to collectively dream up what types of capital products and programs are needed to change the investment system in our communities. These groups come from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from CDFIs with a history of impactful business lending, to municipal government initiatives, to local organizations that view entrepreneurial financing and resource-sharing as a community effort. But they’re all forward-thinking in their approach, and recognize that the challenges around capital access for entrepreneurs of color should be addressed with targeted efforts that mix traditional and groundbreaking financial models, and wraparound services that aid the individual behind the enterprise. During our time together we settled on the shared aim of ensuring that manufacturing entrepreneurs—and entrepreneurs broadly—get the holistic support they need to achieve the economic impact they’re capable of.