Detroit, Michigan

The Motor City has special significance as the EOCF’s inaugural city, thanks in large part to our long-standing CDFI partner there, the Detroit Development Fund. Since launching in 2015, our effort in Detroit has grown to provide more than $2 million in loans and financing annually.

Detroit, MI

Small businesses are a key to Detroit’s present and future. Entrepreneurs of color there have launched over 50,000 small businesses in the city – the fourth largest number in the U.S. Small enterprises are the source of almost 70% of its inner-city jobs. Indeed, a recent study by the ICIC estimates that a 37% increase in small business jobs would be enough to eliminate unemployment in the city.

There are challenges. In a city where people of color make up 86 detroit % of the population, entrepreneurs of color are disproportionately denied access to vital capital. Consider recent numbers that show 46% of loan applicants turned down for financing in Detroit, compared to 16% for White small business owners.

We keep moving forward

Detroit’s EOCF was hard at work in 2021 at the height of the pandemic. That year, EOCF partner Detroit Development Fund provided over $2 million in loan funds to borrowers at a time when many small businesses sought a lifeline to help navigate rough economic waters. Businesses borrow $150,000 on average to support payroll, finance predatory debt, expand inventory and more.

We have closed over 120 loans in Detroit since 2015, representing over $12 million in critical funds that have been put in the hands of hard-working small business owners.

Leading the way.

EOCF in the Motor City is driven by Detroit Development Fund. The organization was founded in 1998, and has worked to helping small business owners, developers, contractors, subcontractors and building owners secure the funding they need to support enterprises, revitalizing neighborhoods, and creating economic equity across Detroit.

DDF provides loans ranging from $50,000 to $200,000. It also helps small business owners get the technical assistance they need by helping them connect to organizations that provide training sessions on a variety of topics including business plan writing, marketing, and website development.

Our borrowers

54% of Detroit EOCF loans have gone to women entrepreneurs

91% of our borrowers are African-American small business owners

In Detroit, EOCF has channeled loan funding to a wide variety of businesses:

Small Corporations

Mom & Pop Establishments

Partnerships

Sole Proprieters

Celebrity Car Wash & See You Tomorrow

There’s no better way to showcase the long-term ability of EOCF’s partner the Detroit Development Fund to build entrepreneurship than in the stories of Julian and Lisa Hill. The began couple working with the CDFI 20 years ago when Julian had the idea to renovate an abandoned car wash in the city’s Piety Hill neighborhood. Julian had a plan starting with gutting the site, and installing all-new hoses, brushes, and blowers from scratch. Thanks to Celebrity’s reputation and Julian’s hard work, the company is humming, boasting fleet-cleaning contracts with clients including the Henry Ford Hospital, the local American Red Cross, and the Detroit Medical Center. The accounts have helped boost Celebrity’s staff to seven employees. Lisa is working on her own enterprise with the help of EOCF loan funds: a breakfast and brunch restaurant called See You Tomorrow. It will open May 2022 a quarter of a mile away in the New Center neighborhood.

“If people knew there was help for things like that, it would change their business and change their mindset about their business. It just took us to a totally different level . . . General contractors are (now) looking at us in a way they never did before.”