The Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship is a national initiative to expand access to capital for small disadvantaged businesses.
The Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (IIE) is a national effort to expand access to capital for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (SEDI). Supported by funders like JPMorgan Chase and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, IIE leverages public-private collaboration to serve as a force multiplier for the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), ensuring this historic $10 billion program reaches SEDI-owned businesses and achieves lasting, equitable impact. IIE was incubated as a pilot for 18 months by Hyphen, and is now housed within the Milken Institute, where it continues to expand beyond its pilot phase.
How we Helped
As a strategic advisor, Next Street collaborated with Hyphen to establish IIE’s core objectives, approach, and structure, creating a strong foundation for the initiative’s impact. Following the launch of IIE, Next Street took on the role of Main Street vertical lead, focusing on developing innovative, flexible lending solutions for Main Street businesses, particularly SEDI-owned small businesses, leveraging SSBCI capital. In this role, Next Street partnered with IBank to launch California Small Business Loan Match—a streamlined, one-stop resource powered by CRF Connect—that connects SEDI small businesses with vetted, responsible lenders enrolled in IBank’s SSBCI Loan Guarantee program. Next Street led the go-to-market strategy for this platform, deploying a multi-channel outreach approach to increase SEDI small businesses’ awareness of the available capital access.
In addition to its role as Main Street lead, Next Street spearheaded IIE’s Knowledge Network, a hub for shared tools, resources, relationship-building, communication, and knowledge sharing across the IIE ecosystem (this includes initiative funders, partners, SSBCI officials/jurisdictions, and other organizations with missions tied to IIE). As part of this effort, Next Street launched and continues to manage the IIE Hub—an innovative online platform serving as both a data repository and a real-time collaboration space for IIE partners and state administrators. Beyond fostering engagement within the IIE Hub, the Knowledge Network has facilitated a learning cohort for SSBCI Technical Assistance (TA) administrators, manages The Pulse, IIE’s official newsletter, and creates additional spaces for collaboration and knowledge exchange, including roundtables and other live and virtual events with IIE stakeholders.
Our Impact
Within six months of California Small Business Loan Match’s launch, Next Street’s efforts have generated over 130,000 website views, with 4,700 pre-applicants, of which about 65% were matched with funding partners, resulting in 21 funded loans totaling over $1 million. Notably, 71% of these loans have supported women-owned businesses, and 67% have supported businesses owned by people of color. Next Street continues to hone and expand efforts in California as well across other jurisdictions with the goal of ensuring awareness of and access to capital to SEDI-owned small businesses. To learn more about Next Street’s work in California and its impact, check out our case study here.
Through the Knowledge Network, Next Street has supported 13 IIE Hub communities, including seven dedicated to Treasury Working Groups. Leveraging the IIE Hub platform, roundtables, and The Pulse newsletter, the Knowledge Network has reached over 200 stakeholders within the IIE Ecosystem. Through the KN’s TA Learning Cohort, Next Street provided support to 18 jurisdictions, facilitating three live sessions along with ongoing asynchronous community-building on the IIE Hub. The Knowledge Network continues to uplift best practices, resources, and advances critical advocacy discussions through additional forthcoming learning cohorts, the Pulse, and roundtables, all in service of moving IIE’s mission forward.