Last summer, Bankable made a commitment to stand with the Black Community and Black-owned small businesses of Indiana. We made it our mission to listen, learn, grow, and innovate in a way that will allow us to better serve and support people of color.
Bankable hit the ground running by partnering with Old National Bank in support of our partnership with Mid-States Minority Supplier Development Council (MSDC). Old National Bank provided us with a grant of $50,000 with the purpose of providing fair and affordable loans, as well as technical assistance support, to Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) in need of extra assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A few months later, Wells Fargo joined as an additional funding partner. Wells Fargo awarded Bankable $250,000 to continue to provide low cost loans to Indiana MBEs through a referral partnership with Mid-States MSDC. In addition to providing fair financing solutions, every participating business will receive access to free business development resources.
Bankable would like to extend a special thank you to both Old National Bank and Wells Fargo for supporting our partnership with Mid-States MSDC. The funds provided by these institutions have already made an impact in the pursuit of making more small businesses Bankable for the future, and have pushed forward our goals to intentionally support racially diverse businesses in Indiana.
Because of their contribution, our funding partners have allowed us to provide $138,000 so far worth of financial assistance to six different Indiana MBEs, along with over 83 hours of direct technical assistance support.
Entourage Cleaning Services LLC is one business that has recently seen positive changes as a result of our funding partners’ support. Entourage works with schools, government offices, and other large commercial offices to provide personalized custodial services and supplies. Our Bankable team was able to provide them with a small microloan, followed by technical assistance covering a variety of areas, from financial coaching all the way to graphic design. After connecting Entourage with Mid-States MSDC, they began the corporate MBE certification process to aid in their goal of landing more commercial contracts. As a result, Sean Sinimbou, President and CEO of Entourage, left us with some encouraging words:
“I really appreciate the professional support that I am getting from the Bankable team. Whether it is from business advice to how to efficiently and effectively run my business, Bankable has been there and guided me through.”
We have been honored to see the support provided by these institutions as well as the opportunity to get to work with some amazing Hoosier businesses. We hope and plan to continue this worthwhile initiative with the support of more organizations so that the impact will multiply and make a difference in our communities.
