MBN USA

May 11, 2023

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Barclays helps launch program with $100,000 commitment

At its Minority Business Economic Forum this past week, the National Minority Supplier Council (NMSDC) and Barclays announced the official launch of the Capital Managers Program to assist capital providers and related services to more easily connect with minority business enterprises (MBEs) to provide funds needed to grow and scale their businesses. The initiative is being launched thanks to the initial support of $100,000 from Barclays. The first goal of the program is to establish the largest and most comprehensive database of capital providers and services firms that have an ethnic minority founder and/or a particular focus on MBEs.

NMSDC is making the database, which includes over 500 firms, publicly available. Not only will it reduce the burden on MBEs to find the right capital partner, but it also includes organizations that provide capacity-building services to MBEs.

“With this new program, NMSDC is hoping to enhance returns and de-risk investments for capital managers focused on the MBE ecosystem,” said NMSDC Entrepreneur in Residence Kurtis Trevan. “Ultimately, this program, in conjunction with NMSDC’s current Growth Initiative, is about rapidly increasing the amount of capital available to MBEs and helping NMSDC get one step closer to its goal of $1 trillion in annual revenue for NMSDC-certified MBEs,” he added.

According to a recent study from the Harvard Business School, minority-owned capital managers are three to four times more likely than white investors to fund minority entrepreneurs. Furthermore, according to a study from the Knight Foundation, these firms only manage .7% of U.S. Assets Under Management. That is despite findings from the National Association of Investment Companies that these very same firms experience higher returns than their majority-owned counterparts.

“The data is clear. Not only do we need to make access more readily available to minority-owned businesses, but we also need to ensure more capital flows to both capital management firms owned by individuals from those communities and firms that are focused on these communities,” said Barclays Global Co-head of Capital Markets Travis Barnes, “We’re excited and grateful to partner with NMSDC on this critical issue,” he added.

The Capital Managers Program is part of NMSDC’s continued effort to accelerate MBE growth and help build long-lasting generational wealth for communities of color in the United States. To learn more about this program, contact the Capital Managers Program at [email protected].