This week in Detroit, a new fund was announced to help Black and Brown developers access capital in Detroit. The Ebiara fund is a partnership between Invest Detroit, URGE Impact, and the Kresge Foundation.
Kresge has invested $10 million into the fund, which offers more than just financial support. The fund also offers coaching and technical assistance through city processes so projects make it to completion, as well as access to assets.
Since minority developers often have barriers to accessing funding, and often only seek it out for specific projects, the fund will help minority development firms increase their operating capacity and hire talent.
“Detroit’s minority-led developers need better access to capital on their balance sheets to compete and bid on public projects and community development work in the Detroit neighborhoods where they live and work,” said Tosha Tabron, a social investment officer at The Kresge Foundation. “The status quo of limited access to capital is unacceptable. It significantly reduces these developers’ ability to accumulate wealth and impedes their efforts to move Detroit neighborhoods forward. This fund directly addresses both of those issues and is one of several city-based funds that Kresge is working with partners like Invest Detroit to build.”
Ebiara intends to work with 10 developers in the two-year pilot phase, and is expecting $100-$200 million in new development in that time.
“Ebiara exists to help combat the challenges that minority developers face growing their business–from accessing capital to securing talent and resources,” said Roderick Hardamon, CEO and Chief Strategist for URGE Imprint. “Ebiara wants to be a partner for real estate development firms who want to scale their impact in Detroit. While the ecosystem has evolved to lower the barrier of entry into real estate development, more work is needed to crack the code on scalability.”
