Inclusive Action for the City (IAC) Providing Support for Entrepreneurs Striving To Increase Their Wages
12.27.2021
—
LISC StoriesEconomic Development
The racial wealth gap has become more apparent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the largest corporations accrued greater wealth, “mom-and-pop” local businesses, particularly in Los Angeles, have struggled.
Inclusive Action for the City (IAC), a nonprofit community development financial institution, is taking on this issue by facilitating transformative economic development initiatives to build strong local economies in low-income, urban communities. With over five years of lending experience and a strong, dedicated economic development team, IAC specializes in low-interest loans for small businesses.
As a fast response to the financial crisis caused by the pandemic, IAC developed the Street Vendor Emergency Fund (SVEF) in collaboration with their partners in the LA Street Vendor Campaign: Community Power Collective, East LA Community Corporation (ELACC), and Public Counsel. In 2020 and 2021, they disbursed $956,134 to 2,390 street vendors through the SVEF. Additionally, IAC provided personal protective equipment (PPE) and other community resources at their cash card distributions.
In the past 2 years, Inclusive Action for the City distributed almost $2 million in cash assistance and grant funding to street vendors and small businesses affected by COVID-19. Partnerships with over 300 nonprofit organizations that advocate for families and entrepreneurs earning low wages and affected by the pandemic made this possible. LISC LA is proud to join this list of sponsors.
LISC LA's $200,000 Recoverable Grant became part of Inclusive Action’s Semi’a Fund, a pool of loan capital that was used to provide low-interest loans to higher-risk borrowers.
LISC LA supported IAC with a recoverable grant to launch two new low-interest loan products for those hardest hit by COVID-19 in 2021. The new loan products were the “Just Recovery” Loan, which targets small businesses that need capital to adapt to the pandemic, and the “New Economy” Loan, which is for those who have lost their jobs during the pandemic and are shifting to entrepreneurship as a result.
Angelito Lapid was one of the many small business owners who received a Just Recovery loan for his business. He is the owner of Lapids Korner Inc which specializes in manufacturing chicharrones and selling them wholesale to Asian grocery stores, such as Seafood City. He started making chicharrones in May 2019, following suit from his family's business in the Philippines. He started out selling chicharrones to smaller mom and pop shops and friends due to limited capacity and not having the required permitting. As of May 2021, he secured a commercial kitchen space on Avenue 25 and the required permits, which has allowed him to scale up his production and service grocery stores. The business loan provided him the capital needed to support his growing business.
Angelito packaging his chicharones
Inclusive Action for the City is also a lending partner with LISC LA in the Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, which aims to provide low cost, flexible capital and technical assistance resources to diverse-owned small businesses. Collectively, these efforts aim to close Los Angeles’ racial wealth gap by investing in minority and women-led small businesses in low-to-moderate income (LMI) communities.
To learn more about Inclusive Action for the City’s efforts, click here.
