$10 Million Commitment Will Create Fund to Support Early-Stage Businesses, With Focus on BIPOC and Women Entrepreneurs Who Lack Access to Traditional Financing
Adams Administration Has Connected Businesses to Over $265 Million in Loans and Grants
City Now Has a Record 183,000 Small Businesses; One in Three Small Businesses in City Formed in Past Two Years; Outer Boroughs Driving Small Business Growth
Effort Builds on Mayor Adams’ “Spring Jobs Sprint” to Advance Opportunities for Thousands of Jobs Over Coming Weeks
New York City Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) Commissioner Kevin D. Kim today closed out “NYC Small Business Month” by announcing the administration’s investment of $10 million to seed the city’s next major small business loan fund, the “NYC Future Fund.” The fund will accelerate the growth of hundreds of new small businesses in New York City by addressing the gap in access to affordable capital faced by small business owners, particularly early-stage businesses, as well as Black, indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) and women entrepreneurs that otherwise often cannot obtain traditional bank financing.
Mayor Adams and New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC) President and CEO Andrew Kimball also today released a new report on small business growth in New York City, showing that New York City currently has more small businesses than ever recorded in its history. As of 2023, there were 183,000 small businesses across the city — over 1,000 more than pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, the report found that 62,000 small businesses were created in the past two years alone, representing one in three small businesses in the city. While new business formation remains concentrated in central business districts, including Midtown Manhattan, net business growth has been strongest in the outer boroughs. North Brooklyn continues to lead the city’s small business recovery, adding 1,000 small businesses since 2019.
“When we create the conditions for small businesses to succeed, our entire city wins,” said Mayor Adams. “We have reached a record number of small businesses under our administration as a result of being laser focused on three core principles of our vision: protecting public safety, rebuilding our economy, and making our city more livable for working-class New Yorkers. As we conclude ‘NYC Small Business Month’ with our $10 million commitment to create a new fund to help small business owners access capital, we will continue to support the city’s 200,000 small businesses that are the lifeblood of our economy.”
“This $10 million investment will serve as a catalyst for thousands of new businesses, particularly those owned by BIPOC and women entrepreneurs, that often face systemic barriers to traditional financing,” said First Deputy Mayor Sheena Wright. “Since the beginning of the Adams Administration, we have helped connect $265 million in grant and loan funding to small businesses, including through our ‘NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund’ launched last year, which was the city’s largest ever public-private partnership fund for small businesses. Today’s announcement reflects our continued commitment to build a more inclusive and resilient economy for all New Yorkers.”
“I am thrilled that we now have a record number of small businesses in this city,” said Deputy Mayor for Housing, Economic Development, and Workforce Maria Torres Springer. “This milestone is a testament to this administration’s efforts to make it easier for small businesses to start, grow, and thrive in the city and it is a great way to cap off ‘NYC Small Business Month.’ As the city’s dynamic small business community continues to evolve, we will stay laser focused on both supporting their growth and connecting them to local talent.”
“At SBS, it's our mission to help every small business owner in New York City by connecting them with the resources they need to thrive, and that's exactly what we've done with our first-ever ‘NYC Small Business Expo,’” said SBS Commissioner Kim. “Not only are we helping thousands of current small business owners, but our major investment into the brand-new ‘NYC Future Fund’ will supercharge the next generation of entrepreneurs across all five boroughs. I want to thank Mayor Adams, Deputy Mayor Torres-Springer, Economic Development President Kimball, and the 40+ city, state, and federal agencies and other partners that made this tremendous event possible. By bringing all of these free resources under one roof, we are empowering every New Yorker to find success in a true ‘City of Yes.’”
“With New York City reaching an all-time high number of small businesses, the ‘NYC Future Fund’ will prioritize equity,” said New York City Economic Development President and CEO Andrew Kimball. “NYCEDC looks forward to working with our partners to continue to build a vibrant and inclusive economy for all New Yorkers where small businesses can thrive.”
Today’s announcement was made as the city concluded its second annual “NYC Small Business Month,” a five-borough celebration of local businesses with resource fairs and events led by SBS, local Chambers of Commerce, and Business Improvement Districts citywide. The first-ever city-run “Small Business Month Expo” capped the month’s activities with hundreds of free services, programs from more than 40 city, state, and federal agencies, and other partner resources, all under one roof to support the city’s 200,000 local small businesses.
Under the Adams administration, over $265 million in grant and loan funding has been facilitated or administered to small businesses through SBS. The NYC Future Fund, being developed by SBS, will add another resource in the expanding toolkit of resources that have been announced since the start of the Adams administration to catalyze small business growth, fill vacant storefronts, and revitalize commercial corridors. The fund builds on the success of the landmark $85 million “NYC Small Business Opportunity Fund,” which provided loans of up to $250,000 to over 1,000 businesses, with 69 percent of loans going to BIPOC-owned businesses. Designed to help businesses access both start-up and operating capital, the new fund will employ an innovative revenue-based revolving loan structure with flexible repayment schedules that meet the unique needs of businesses as they grow. SBS will also develop a coalition of private-sector partners this year, including local community financial development organizations, before launching the fund, to supercharge new business formation across all five boroughs.
The announcement comes as a new report from the NYCEDC shows a record-number of small businesses in New York City, demonstrating robust growth in new business formation, especially in the outer boroughs, and across many industries, from restaurants and bars to the technology and professional-services sectors. The report also underscores the need for early-stage financial services, with small business startups citing seed money and affordable, low-interest capital as major barriers to growth.
These efforts, combined with the administration’s “City of Yes for Economic Opportunity,” reflect Mayor Adams’ commitment to growing the city’s economy, promoting new small businesses and job creation, and filling vacant storefronts. Under the Adams administration, one-in-six businesses in New York City have launched, small businesses with fewer than 50 employees account for approximately half of all new jobs created, and storefront vacancy rates in several neighborhoods and boroughs have fallen to pre-pandemic levels.
“During a time when access to credit has been difficult and expensive, the Adams administration has built creative partnerships to help meet the funding needs of small business,” said Kathryn Wylde, president and CEO, Partnership for New York City. “From the ‘NYC Opportunity Fund’ with Goldman Sachs and Mastercard, to the new investment to create an ‘NYC Future Fund,’ this administration’s commitment to public-private partnership will continue to serve small businesses.”
As the city reaches a new private-sector jobs high, with the lowest unemployment since August 2022 and the lowest Black unemployment in half a decade, Mayor Adams has kicked off a “Spring Jobs Sprint” to advance opportunities for thousands of new jobs over the coming weeks. Recently, Mayor Adams was joined by New York Governor Kathy Hochul and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to announce an agreement to transform the Brooklyn Marine Terminal into a modern maritime port and vibrant mixed-use community hub, with the potential to create thousands of jobs. The project also builds on generational and forward-looking projects across all five boroughs that Mayor Adams has advanced over the past two years, including Willets Point in Queens, Kingsbridge Armory in the Bronx, the Climate Innovation Hub in Brooklyn, the SPARC Kips Bay Life Sciences hub in Manhattan, and the New York Climate Exchange on Governors Island, among others.
Additionally, last month, Mayor Adams launched “Run This Town,” a multi-media advertising campaign to engage diverse New Yorkers and help them apply for thousands of available city government jobs. The announcement followed the launch of “Jobs NYC,” a multi-pronged citywide effort to reduce barriers to economic opportunities and deliver workforce development services directly to communities across the five boroughs that are experiencing high unemployment. Both campaigns are expected to further reduce the unacceptable disparities in employment between Black, Latino, and white communities. The Adams administration continues to host hiring halls to bring both public- and private-sector job opportunities to neighborhoods across the five boroughs on a monthly basis.
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