Banking on the Unbankable?—?Harvard Presentation [Recap]

Earlier this year, Awamary Khan and I were honored to present to The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University on the formation of the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center (launched early 2017). Special thank you to our host, Sage Salvo (Gil Perkins).

Awamary is the Executive VP, Chief Financial + Operating Officer at Carolina Small Business Development Fund (CSBDF), a U.S. Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) based in Raleigh, N.C. CSBDF serves the state of North Carolina by supporting underserved entrepreneurs by providing affordable lending capital and technical assistance to small businesses.

I serve as the Executive Director of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center (IEC), a joint venture between Carolina Small Business Development Fund and Shaw University (North Carolina’s oldest HBCU). The IEC is centrally located in downtown Raleigh. The 2,000 sq.ft facility is two blocks away from Shaw’s campus and one block away from the emerging tech and business sectors of downtown Raleigh.

“Here we’re fortunate to learn from the world’s leaders about what they’re doing to transform communities. Sometimes, however, I like to drill down from the bird’s eye view and talk on the ground. The ground has some great ideas, too!” — Sage Salvo referring to the need to provide application to the many theoretical happening in the classroom.

The ground that Sage speaks of is the traditionally labeled ‘unbankable’ population of local entrepreneurs. Organizations like Carolina Small Business Development Fund seek to align capital with social, economic, and political justice. CDFIs promote economic revitalization through investments in Main Street businesses.

A brainchild of former Shaw University President Dr. Tashni Dubroy, and Lenwood Long, President/ CEO and Awamary Khan of Carolina Small Business, the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Center has a two-fold objective: to service the needs of small business entrepreneurs throughout the state with a focus on Raleigh/Durham community and to serve the Shaw University community of students & alumni across entrepreneurial ventures, business education, and career readiness.

“Not only do CDFIs offer start-up funding in a form of a low-interest loan, we also offer technical assistance and are a trusted business guide; because those who go into business for themselves should never be left by themselves” — Awamary Khan, Carolina Small Business Development Fund

Students, hailing mostly from an Urban Innovation class at the Harvard Kennedy School, got a rich introduction to the mechanics of CDFIs from Awamary as well as insight into the national business landscape from my experiences visiting start-up communities throughout the country. Awamary and I presented about the value of collaboration across academia, community, and capital. Our three takeaways to the students were as follows:

• Collaborate Locally — A big part of the IEC’s focus is to achieve success by collaborating with local entities that share in our mission to serve people who have historically been underserved when it comes to business development resources. Since its launch in January 2017, the IEC has had collaborations with many local businesses, including Citrix, Red Hat, Rotary Club, United Way of the Greater Triangle, SE Raleigh Promise, City of Raleigh, and Zaxby’s.
• Unlock Local Capital — CDFIs such as CSBDF fill a significant need in the community regarding funding. However, depending on a variety of factors, a CDFI may not be the best financing option for a business. To meet this need, we collaborate with local and national banks, angel investors, and grantors to unlock investment capital.
• Education + Curriculum — “Skate to where the puck is going” — Across Shaw University, the IEC has received of customer from the students as well as from the other communities stakeholders (i.e. the people doing the hiring). New curriculums are being implemented to give Shaw students a leg-up as they enter an ever-changing job market where technical skills and divergent thinking are critical.

Across these three points, our team is confident that strong, innovative companies and brilliant young business minds will have the tools to will emerge within our own ecosystem.

If you are interested in learning more about our work and/or collaborating. Please reach out [email protected].

“CDFIs are the missing link between all of these innovation centers across the nation that are heavily dependent on Angel Investors and Venture Capitalists. Most of the start-up entrepreneurs that are underserved and cannot attract funding from the VCs, AIs, or banks have the option to connect with a CDFI” — Awamary Khan, Carolina Small Business Development Fund — Awamary Khan