Small Business

Although business ownership may not be the primary way that most individuals and families build wealth in the United States, in any capitalist economy it’s a route that cannot be ignored.

Microlending fills a vital role in creating opportunity and equity in low-income communities, and in meeting demand for loans among entrepreneurs who have face barriers accessing credit: people of color and women.

How can the financial system convert the value and promise of entrepreneurship into an asset?

On February 25, Business Ownership Initiative Director Joyce Klein participated in a webinar hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta,

The Aspen Institute and the Microfinance Impact Collaborative recently announced the creation of the Entrepreneur Backed Assets (EBA) Fund, which will strengthen the capacity of community-based financial institutions to lend to small businesses in low-income communities and those owned by people of color.

This episode of the CRA Podcast looks at the Entrepreneur Backed Assets Fund, which has created a secondary market for small business loans.

While the Paycheck Protection Program was intended to help small businesses hit hardest by COVID-19, it failed to deliver on its promise.

Richenda Van Leeuwen joined the Aspen Institute as Executive Director of the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) in September. She is an ambassador for equitable and inclusive economic development and brings a breadth of knowledge and experience to leading the work of ANDE—a global network that supports the success of small and growing businesses (SGBs) around the world. She spoke with the Institute’s President and CEO, Dan Porterfield, about the importance of ANDE’s work and the impact of investing in SGBs as a method of changemaking.

Businesses owned by people of color tend to be in less profitable industries because of the effects of systemic inequality and racism.