says it has formed a new partnership with the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City on the Inner City Capital Connections program.
This initiative will provide access to capital for small, local businesses, which is a goal identified by The Business Council’s Coalition for Business Development led by Chairman Tim Jones, managing partner at Robert Martin Company. The initiative also will provide much needed training and education for Westchester businesses to meet their various financing and growth objectives, according to Dr. Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of the Business Council.
Established in 2005, ICCC is designed to stimulate the flow of capital to inner city businesses. Nearly 200 inner city companies and 150 equity providers have participated in the program since 2005. Since that time, ICCC companies have raised approximately $149 million in equity financing.
“This is the country’s only program that educates investment-ready inner city companies about their equity and other sources of capital and matches them with investors to grow their business and create jobs,” said Gordon. “We recognize the importance of access to capital for small businesses in Westchester and view this as a significant source of revenue, job creation and overall growth for Westchester businesses.”
The companies that are successfully nominated and chosen for this program will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with venture capitalists at two upcoming events in Detroit and New York City. In past years, more than 85% of participants met at least one potential investor at ICCC.
In order to be eligible for this program, companies should:
- Be headquartered or have more than 50% of their physical operation in an economically distressed urban area
- Or, more than 40% of their employees should reside in an economically distressed urban area.
- In addition, they should be for-profit corporations, partnerships or proprietors that had revenues of more than $2 million in 2011.
This partnership is the first of a series of initiatives planned by The Business Council’s Coalition for Business Development designed to provide greater access to capital for Westchester’s small businesses.
For more information on the program and how to apply, contact Gordon at 914-948-2110 or mgordon@westchesterny.org.
