By Equivico by NCRC / February 22, 2020
On March 11, 2019, Equivico by NCRC’s Eleni Delimpaltadaki Janis served as moderator of a dynamic discussion on the accessibility of capital resources to those in traditionally underserved communities. Eleni was joined by local ecosystem builders from cities across the nation to tackle topics such as public policy reform and how capital resources can be made available to entrepreneurs of color. A detailed description of the panel as reported by the NCRC in the program pamphlet is as follows:
“Start Up, Stay Up, Scale Up (SU3) [pronounced sue cubed] is an initiative designed to address the challenges in access to capital, social networks and expertise that founders of color encounter in growing their businesses. In Albequerque, New Orleans and San Francisco, people of color are underrepresented as business owners. Evidence suggests that the low numbers are due not to the lack of entrepreneurs, or absence of viable business ideas, but rather to social and financial capital remaining amongst primarily white entrepreneurial networks. Without the expertise and coordinated efforts to meet the needs of entrepreneurs of color, cities are failing to benefit from the success and exponential impact on local innovation and wealth creation these founders stimulate.
SU3 cities are taking an ecosystem approach to break down the barriers to capital, strengthen public policy and expand networks. In this session, local ecosystem builders from Albuquerque, New Orleans and San Francisco, as well as Living Cities (SU3) leaders, will share how they are unlocking the resources and relationships in their entrepreneurial ecosystem to provide founders of color the resources they need to thrive.”
Moderator: Eleni Delimpaltadaki Janis, Chief of Capital Markets, NCRC, Washington DC
Speakers:
Robin Brule, Chief Community Engagement Officer, Nusenda Credit Union, Albuquerque, NM
Elizabeth Reynoso, Assistant Director of Public Sector Innovation, Living Cities, New York, NY
TD Lowe, Partner, 42Phi Ventures, San Francisco, CA
Judith Dangerfield, Owner, MetroSource, New Orleans, LA
To see more photos from the 2019 event, click here.
To learn more about the Just Economy Conference, click here.
