Chicago, Illinois

The Entrepreneurs of Color Fund began operating in Chicago in 2018 and has since channeled
approximately $20 million dollars of vital capital to small businesses. The Chicago metropolitan area ranks as EOCF’s largest effort in the nation; our borrowers cover almost 60 neighborhoods across the city, with a special focus on the West Side, Austin and South Shore. In all, the fund has completed over 1000 transactions, with an average loan size of about $50,000.

Chicago, IL

Chicago and entrepreneurs of color have spirit, imagination, and drive, but also a pressing need. Black and Latinx Chicagoans make up nearly 60% of Cook County’s population yet own just 9% of employee firms in the city. A 2020 report found that Black and Latinx entrepreneurs experience a profound funding disparity with 80% of their equity capital needs unmet, compared to 46% for White-owned businesses. That results in a capital gap of close to $150 million for Black and Latinx small business owners.

A city with spirit.

Small businesses are a critical engine in the local economy. A 2019 report by the ICIC found that pre-pandemic, found that the city had over 100,000 enterprises with 250 or fewer employees, companies that accounted for 62% of Chicago’s employment..

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“Chicago’s neglected neighborhoods need more jobs. Small business owners can create those jobs if they receive the loans and coaching they need to build their businesses.”

— Brad McConnell, Allies for Community Business CEO

Focusing on the target

The Chicago EOCF has set a goal of reaching 200 entrepreneurs, provide 500 hours of technical assistance and $2 million in loan fund to 50 small businesses, with an eye of spurring 2.5 million in revenue growth over the same period.

Are you a small business in Chicago? Read on to learn more about our local lending partners.

Our Partners

Our entrepreneurs.

EOCF funding continues to boost the drive we see in Chicago small business sector. Our program is lifting up businesses across a variety of sectors including restaurants, food service, retail, tech services and health care and social assistance. Our entrepreneurs are using loan funds to buy equipment, hire additional staff, refinance, hire new employees, pay down existing debt, purchase inventory and more.

Don Pablo’s Kitchen & Bakeshop

Pablo Soto and his wife Julie Morrow-Soto are making their dream of opening a restaurant come true in West Argyle with help from an EOCF loan. In 2022, they opened a counter-service style cafe serving Chilean empanadas called Don Pablo’s Kitchen & Bakeshop. It has already made a splash in local foody circles, recently earning online Chicago Eater magazine’s distinction of the “Hottest New Restaurant in Chicago.” A small business loan from EOCF partner Allies for Community Business, helped Pablo and Julie buy equipment and get up and running.

Chicago’s EOCF borrowers lead many types of businesses:

Small Corporations

Mom & Pop Establishments

Partnerships

Sole Proprieters

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Chicago’s small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the lifeblood of our neighborhoods. The don’t just provide jobs . . . they provide the basic goods and services that our families need on a daily basis. Their mere presences in neighborhoods provides support and stability . . . and hope. With loans ranging from $500 to $500,000, small businesses and entrepreneurs in these communities were given access to capital they didn’t have before allowing them to grow their businesses, create new jobs and develop their entrepreneurial skills all while strengthening the lives of their families and their communities.