J.P. Morgan Chase invests $2.5 million in 4 Detroit small business development groups

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. is committing more than $2.5 million

to four Detroit-based small business development organizations, the New York-based global financial services firm announced Monday morning. The new grants, part of the $150 million commitment J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) has made to the city's economic recovery, will support TechTown, Southwest Detroit Business Association, Detroit Economic Growth Corp, and Eastern Market Corp.

The grants aim to help strengthen entrepreneurship in city neighborhoods and boost economic growth across Detroit, the company said. "Over the past three years, the firm's investment in Detroit has helped 1,800 small businesses receive technical assistance and provided loan and grant capital directly to 100 small businesses, including 44 entrepreneurs of color who could not get access to traditional financing," J.P. Morgan said in a news release. "Seven hundred jobs were also created or maintained as a result of this commitment."

The J.P. Morgan Chase Institute showed that 58 percent of consumer spending took place at small businesses within Detroit. Additionally, there are approximately 32,000 minority-owned small businesses in Detroit, according to the U.S. Census, which ranks Detroit as the fourth largest U.S. city for the number of minority-owned businesses. "Detroit's flourishing small business community is one of the most important drivers of an inclusive economy for the city," Janis Bowdler, head of Small Business Initiatives, J.P. Morgan Chase, said in the release. "... The success of the city's small businesses is driving neighborhood renaissance and creating vibrant urban corridors and local jobs."

The new small business investments are:

• TechTown ($1.2 million):
  The grant is to support Retail Boot Camp, an eight-week program that prepares entrepreneurs to open brick-and-mortar retail locations in key Detroit commercial corridors, and SWOT City, a small business support program to help brick-and-mortar enterprises in six of Detroit's target neighborhoods for redevelopment launch, stabilize and grow.
• Detroit Economic Growth Corp. ($725,000):
  To support economic development programs addressing three areas of need: foreign direct investment attraction, the Motor City Match program and the formation of an African-American business leadership council.
• Eastern Market Corp. ($500,000):
  The investment will focus on expanding food entrepreneurship programs, enhancing expansion opportunities for Detroit food businesses, supporting equitable community development of the Eastern Market District and helping to provide EMC with sufficient organizational capacity to execute these programs.
• Southwest Detroit Business Association ($110,000):
  This program aims to train and mentor small business owners to strengthen and establish their presence in Southwest Detroit. It offers bilingual 1-on-1 mentorship and food safety/business training/certifications, small business technical assistance and marketing support as well as direct assistance with site plan reviews, permitting and zoning and location challenges, among other things.

Earlier this month, J.P. Morgan Chase announced a $50 million increase in the $100 million investment it committed to economic development and neighborhood stabilization in Detroit during the depths of the city's historic bankruptcy three years ago. Half of the $150 million will be grants and the other half is going to toward a variety of loan funds for small business growth, mixed-use real estate development and residential housing projects, said Peter Scher, head of corporate responsibility for J.P. Morgan Chase.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor
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