National program connects growing inner city companies to $703
million in capital
BOSTON, Nov. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Bank of America
announced today the results of an impact analysis of Inner City
Capital Connections (ICCC), a national program that identifies
inner city businesses in need of growth capital and matches them
with private equity and debt providers. The report
reveals that participating companies have raised $703 million in growth capital -- $171 million in equity financing and $532 million in debt. This is a stunning
success story, considering that 71 percent of inner city businesses
have on average only a quarter of the capital needed to compete in
their industries. In addition, ICCC companies have experienced
revenue growth at an average CAGR of 46% and created more than
5,600 jobs in their communities.
"There is a significant lack of capital availability in
America's inner cities," stated Mary Kay
Leonard, ICIC President and CEO. "For many urban
entrepreneurs facing capital gaps for their businesses, ICCC helps
open the door to a network of financial options that they had
limited or no access to previously."
ICCC, supported by national partners Bank of America, the
U.S. Small Business Administration and FORTUNE, educates inner city
entrepreneurs on how to access capital and matches them with
capital providers. To do this, the program offers selected
companies web-based training workshops, coaches to help perfect
company pitches, a day-long information session on equity and other
forms of growth financing, and an innovative one-day event that
directly connects them with investors to make pitches and discuss
potential opportunities.
This year's ICCC training programs were hosted in Detroit on October
24 and in Chicago on
October 29. The Detroit
training day was supported by John Hancock Financial, Quicken
Loans, Ally Bank, Detroit Economic
Growth Corporation, Detroit Regional Chambers, DTE Energy
Foundation, Fifth Third Bank, and the Michigan Economic Development
Corporation. Supporters for the Chicago day session included: the University of Chicago Booth School of Business,
Cook County, BMO Harris Bank, Citi
and Cambium LLC.
The program is free to inner city businesses, and 178 companies
from across the country have been selected to participate in this
year's program. To qualify, a business must be located in the inner
city (defined as an area of concentrated economic distress) or have
a disproportionate percentage of its employees residing in such an
area. In addition, a company must have $2
million in revenue. The companies selected for the program
represent numerous industries including technology, food and
beverage, consumer goods, business and professional services, and
manufacturing.
"ICCC demonstrates that growing inner companies, if given the
access to capital, can generate the jobs and wealth that are
crucial to the transformation of our urban communities," explained
Edward Powers, Managing Director of
Bank of America BAML Capital Access Fund. "We are proud to help
these growing businesses connect with a vast network of capital
providers."
The 2012 ICCC Match Day with potential investors is being held
on November 9, 2012 at the
headquarters of FORTUNE.
Facts about ICCC:
- 375 inner city businesses have participated in the
program
- 150 investors, representing private equity, venture
capital, angel networks, mezzanine financing and debt, have
participated
- $703 million in capital
raised – $171 million in equity and
$532 million in debt
- 46 percent annual growth rate in revenue reported by
ICCC companies
- 5,694 jobs generated by ICCC businesses since 2005 (an
average of 15 jobs per firm)
- 78 percent of ICCC firms are minority-owned and 33
percent are woman-owned
About ICIC: The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City
is a nonprofit research and strategy organization and the leading
authority on U.S. inner city economies and the businesses that
thrive there. Founded in 1994 by Harvard Business School Professor
Michael Porter, ICIC expands inner
city economies by providing businesses, governments and investors
with the most comprehensive and actionable information in the field
about urban market opportunities. ICIC's unique knowledge and
expertise about inner city success factors and thriving companies
is developed from specialized urban networks and path-breaking
research. www.icic.org
About Bank of America: Bank of America is one of the
world's largest financial institutions, serving individual
consumers, small- and middle-market businesses and large
corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset
management and other financial and risk management products and
services. The company provides unmatched convenience in
the United States, serving
approximately 55 million consumer and small business relationships
with approximately 5,500 banking centers and approximately 16,300
ATMs and award-winning online banking with 30 million active online
banking users. Bank of America is among the world's leading wealth
management companies and is a global leader in corporate and
investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset
classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and
individuals around the world. Bank of America offers
industry-leading support to more than 3 million small business
owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products
and services. The company serves clients through operations in more
than 40 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is
a component of the Dow Jones Industrial Average and is listed on
the New York Stock Exchange. For more Bank of America news, visit
the Bank of America newsroom.
About FORTUNE:
FORTUNE is a global leader in business
journalism with a domestic print and tablet circulation of over
845,000 and a global readership of nearly 5 million. The brand is
known for major editorial franchises such as the FORTUNE 500 and
the FORTUNE 100 Best Companies to Work For. FORTUNE Live Media
extends the brand's mission into live events, hosting a wide range
of annual conferences, including FORTUNE's Most Powerful Women and
the FORTUNE Global Forum. FORTUNE publishes English-language
editions in Europe and
Asia, and local-language editions
in United Arab Emirates,
Kuwait, China, Turkey, South
Korea, Indonesia and
India. CNNMoney.com, which draws
more than 14.6 million readers a month, is the online home of
FORTUNE.com.
SOURCE Initiative for a Competitive Inner City