Exelon launches a multimillion-dollar fund to bolster minority-owned businesses
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uilding on its efforts to promote equity, inclusion and economic opportunity, Exelon has created a $36 million fund to support minority-owned businesses in the communities it serves.
The Racial Equity Capital Fund will help minority businesses obtain capital to fuel growth and spur job opportunities in underserved and under-resourced communities often overlooked by investors and traditional funding sources, the utility said.
“These same entrepreneurs are often the greatest source of economic opportunity in their communities,” Calvin Butler, senior executive vice president and chief operating officer of Exelon, said in a news release.
The capital fund is expected to invest in numerous businesses throughout Exelon’s service areas over the next three years, with estimated loan amounts between $100,000 and $300,000 and equity investments of nearly $1 million. Its six utilities are Atlantic City Electric, BGE, ComEd, Delmarva Power, PECO and Pepco.
The investment will be funded by Exelon’s utilities business, in partnership with the Exelon Foundation, and managed by RockCreek, a diverse-owned global investment firm.
“Diversity, equity and inclusion are core values at Exelon,” Butler said. “And it’s hugely important in the communities we serve—where the change that comes from economic opportunity can’t wait another day. The Racial Equity Capital Fund is one more way we’re making good on our responsibility to help those communities become stronger and more resilient.”
Other efforts include increased spending with diversity-certified suppliers, grants to Black-owned businesses, more than 100 workforce development programs with 400-plus graduates to date, an Exelon-based Racial Equity Task Force to eliminate barriers and create opportunities for employees and other stakeholders, and donations to organizations with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion.