Goldman Sachs offering $10M to help small businesses thrive in R.I.

GOLDMAN SACHS said it will offer $10 million in capital and philanthropic support to help small businesses grow in Rhode Island.
GOLDMAN SACHS said it will offer $10 million in capital and philanthropic support to help small businesses grow in Rhode Island.

PROVIDENCE – Goldman Sachs announced Tuesday that it will offer $10 million in capital and philanthropic support to help small businesses grow in Rhode Island.
The funding will come through Goldman Sachs “10,000 Small Businesses” initiative, which offers eligible companies applied business and management education, access to capital and business support services. The global financial institution is partnering with the Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island School of Design and BDC Capital Corp. The latter will act as a funding conduit to make loans to small business owners throughout the state.
“With small business owners currently representing more than 80 percent of the state’s employers, we recognize that supporting the remarkable work that these entrepreneurs do every day contributes to economic growth and strengthens communities in the process,” said Gary Cohn, president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs.
Cohn made the announcement Tuesday morning at NBX Bikes in Providence. He was joined by Gov. Gina M. Raimondo, U.S. Sen. Jack F. Reed and Mayor Jorge O. Elorza.
Total revenue for eligible businesses must have exceeded $100,000 in the most recent fiscal year. The businesses must be at least two years old, employ a minimum of two full-time workers and “have a desire to grow and create jobs,” according to a press release.
Goldman Sachs is committing $5 million for business and management education and $5 million in capital, which the state says nicely complements the recently launched Rhode Island Small Business Assistance Program. The program makes public money available to small-business owners through private small-business-lending institutions.
Raimondo said that “10,000 Small Businesses is a proven model for unlocking the growth and job-creation potential of small businesses. We are thrilled Goldman Sachs is bringing this program to Rhode Island, providing a unique opportunity to help us move our state forward by strengthening our local businesses – the backbone of our economy.”
The U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy estimates there were about 23,012 Rhode Island small businesses employing 221,636 people in 2013. Goldman Sachs estimates its initiative has reached more than 6,000 small businesses in the United States and United Kingdom with 67 percent of participants reporting revenue growth within six months of graduating from the initiative and 46 percent netting new jobs during the same period.
The 10,000 Small Businesses initiative will be guided by an advisory council comprising big-name global executives, including Lloyd Blankfein, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, Michael R. Bloomberg, founder of Bloomberg LP and the 108th mayor of New York City, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffet and Michael Porter of Harvard Business School.
CCRI and RISD will work on the local level to encourage small businesses to apply for the initiative and provide business advice and design expertise for program participants, according to the release.
“The [initiative] will be one of the most significant investments made to the Community College of Rhode Island,” said CCRI President Meghan Hughes. “We are proud to be the educational anchor for this program as it launches statewide.”
Goldman Sachs has tapped BDC Capital, headquartered in Wakefield, Mass., to handle the financing portion of the initiative, charging it with making loans to small businesses with the available capital. The business-development company says it has invested in more than 50 Rhode Island businesses in the past three years.
“BDC is actively seeking new and innovative ways to serve the many deserving small businesses lacking access to capital in Rhode Island,” said Kenneth J. Smith, president of BDC Capital. “Goldman Sachs [initiative] will go a long way towards creating new opportunities for small-business owners looking to grow.”
The mayors of Providence, Warwick, Woonsocket, Central Falls and Pawtucket are expected to help with the recruitment of small business owners, according to the release.
“Small businesses are the foundation of our economy and part of what makes Providence – and all of Rhode Island – an exciting place to live, work and succeed,” Elorza said.
Applications for the educational side of the initiative are already being accepted and can be downloaded at www.10ksbapply.com. For information regarding the loan-application process, business owners are advised to contact BDC Capital directly at (781) 928-1100.

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