$3 million in capital to become available to women and minority-owned firms
BOSTON, June 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Sovereign Bank, Senator John
F. Kerry and partners announced today the Massachusetts Small Business
Supplier Diversity Initiative that will assist minority and/or women-owned
small business vendors with expansion and job creation in Massachusetts.
Sovereign Bank, Business Development Corporation of New England (BDC) and
Property Casualty Initiative (PCI) have created a three million dollar loan
fund for the program. The Small Business Association of New England (SBANE)
will conduct outreach and the Center for Women and Enterprise (CWE) as well
as members from Turnaround Management Association Northeast Chapter (TMA)
will provide technical assistance to small businesses as part of the
initiative.
"We are excited about this partnership, and the opportunities we hope
to create for minority and women owned businesses," said Patrick Sullivan,
Northern New England chief executive officer for Sovereign Bank. "The
Massachusetts Small Business Supplier Diversity Initiative was created with
the goal of providing more small businesses with a competitive advantage
through increased capacity, and connections with new companies throughout
Massachusetts. These funds will provide small businesses access to larger
Massachusetts companies that are searching for vendors to supply them with
goods and services."
As part of the initiative, the Small Business Association of New
England will help identify those businesses that the new loan program can
help with some additional capital. The Center for Women in Enterprise and
members of the Turnaround Management Association will provide the technical
assistance needed to help these small businesses succeed. Both
organizations will provide mentoring and other assistance to help the
owners along the way.
The announcement was made during a roundtable discussion in Boston with
a group of Massachusetts based women and minority business leaders. U.S.
Senator John Kerry, Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship, attended and participated in the discussion.
"Massachusetts' minority and women entrepreneurs need more initiatives
like this. I'm working at the federal level to expand opportunities for our
small businesses and applaud the private sector for stepping up to the
plate and improving access to capital and contracts," said U.S. Senator
John Kerry (D-Mass.), Chairman of the Committee on Small Business and
Entrepreneurship.
The loan fund will be available to women and minority owned businesses
to help them access subcontracts for goods and services from larger
companies. To be eligible the vendor must be located in Massachusetts and
present evidence of the new business opportunity in the form of an RFP or
similar documentation.
"This initiative is important because it provides minority and women
business leaders the opportunity to finance their new ventures. At SBANE,
we will help to identify businesses in need and connect them with the
initiative," said Bob Baker, president of SBANE.
"Each year the Center for Women and Enterprise helps thousands of women
gain access to capital that is often not easily available. This is a
terrific break-though for these women and many others who are doing all
they can to gain economic traction in our society," said Donna Mullen Good,
chief executive officer of CWE.
SOURCE Sovereign Bank
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Related links:
http://www.sovereignbank.com
CONTACT:
D.J. Murphy of Sovereign Bank,
+1-617-757-5513, or cell, +1-617-959-4931, or
dmurphy1@sovereignbank.com, or Bob Baker of SBANE,
+1-781-890-9070, or cell, +1-781-856-9116, or bob@sbane.org
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