VP Kamala Harris, in historic Black business district, announces aid for NC companies

Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi
·2 min read
11

Vice President Kamala Harris announced in Durham’s historic Black Wall Street district on Friday that the federal government is awarding $32 million to help women- and minority-led businesses in North Carolina.

These funds will be distributed to 10 women- and minority-led venture capital firms, or firms that invest in startup companies and small businesses, which will then use funds to support entrepreneurship.

Many of these venture capitalists were present for the announcement Friday on West Parrish Street, just outside of the Ella West Gallery, a Black-woman owned fine arts gallery which opened last year.

According to a White House news release, this will lead to an additional $60 million in private spending in the state.

The firms getting awards include Nex Cubed, RevTech Labs, LaVert Ventures and Latimer Ventures.

Harris was joined by Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, Gov. Roy Cooper and U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee, who represents Chapel Hill and Durham.

The Democratic vice president’s visit comes four days before North Carolina’s presidential primary election on Tuesday and hours before planned visits to North Carolina by the Republican candidates for president, former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley.

This trip finished the Biden administration’s fourth “Investing in America” tour and is Harris’ second trip to North Carolina this year.

People wave as Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade passes on N. Magnum St. in Durham, N.C., Friday, March 1, 2024, Vice President Harris visited Ella West Art Gallery during a trip to announce the federal government is awarding $32 million to help women- and minority-led businesses in North Carolina.
People wave as Vice President Kamala Harris’ motorcade passes on N. Magnum St. in Durham, N.C., Friday, March 1, 2024, Vice President Harris visited Ella West Art Gallery during a trip to announce the federal government is awarding $32 million to help women- and minority-led businesses in North Carolina.

Where does the funding come from?

The money comes from the Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), which was created in 2010 to help businesses after the 2008 housing crisis.

It was reauthorized by the Biden administration during the COVID-19 pandemic, through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Congress appropriated $10 billion for the program, to be spread out among states, territories, and tribal governments.

According to a White House news release, this spending is part of the Biden administration’s “effort to ensure that not just loans, but also equity capital investments are available across all of America to entrepreneurs – including Black-, Hispanic-, veteran- and women-led businesses, as well as those in rural areas – that have typically been shut out of these opportunities.”

The White House also said that nearly $3 billion from the program is going to equity-based financing programs nationwide, which is expected to lead to $30 billion in additional funding and private spending over a decade.