JPMorgan Chase’s philanthropically-backed initiative to get more capital into the hands of minority entrepreneurs is expanding to Chicago.
JPMorgan is committing $3 million to the fund and its local partners, Accion Chicago and Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). The financial services firm is also allocating $1 million to entrepreneurial mentorship programs at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University.
JPMorgan first launched its Entrepreneurs of Color Fund in Detroit with the Kellogg Foundation. Detroit’s initial $6.5 million fund has grown to $18 million with backing from Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation, the Kresge Foundation and Cincinnati-based Fifth Third Bank.
JPMorgan has since expanded the initiative to the Bronx, N.Y. and the San Francisco Bay Area. The latest extension in Chicago includes a $2.5 million from Fifth Third Bank, whose branches are concentrated in midwestern markets.
