BOSTON – The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), under the Massachusetts Small Business Growth Fund, closed on its first growth capital investment to Privé Parking LLC for $100,000. Privé Parking LLC, a Black-owned parking management company that offers valet services around the Boston area.
Owner Ricardo Pierre-Louis will use the funds from the Massachusetts Small Business Growth Fund to launch much-needed shuttle services originating in Nubian Square.
LISC’s Massachusetts Small Business Growth Fund was founded to address the unmet capital demands — estimated at $574 million annually — of entrepreneurs of color in Massachusetts, by investing in growing businesses owned by Black, Latino, and Indigenous entrepreneurs and other people of color. Funded by the Boston Children’s Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and BayCoast Bank, the fund provides flexible equity-like capital with performance-based repayments.
“This fund takes an innovative approach to supporting the growth of Black and Brown businesses, fostering job creation, and facilitating wealth building by providing the patient capital akin to a ‘family and friends’ round,” said Yvonne Durbin, Director of LISC’s Capital Innovation Lab.
While the Seaport is experiencing rapid commercial growth, it lacks diversity, in contrast to Nubian Square, a historically African American community just 3.4 miles away. Recognizing the potential for improving diversity, public officials and Boston residents have expressed the need for affordable, end-to-end transportation options in the Seaport. With $100,000 funding, Privé will acquire a passenger van to absorb shuttle contracting costs, offer transportation solutions for special events, and bid on contracts requiring ongoing shuttle services in Boston. Exciting opportunities lie in offering a special shuttle service route that would allow easy transportation between Nubian Square and the Seaport.
"I am deeply thankful to LISC for the opportunity and funding through the Massachusetts Small Business Growth Fund. This support will enable Privé Parking to launch our shuttle services and expand our business,” said Ricardo Pierre-Louis, owner of Privé Parking LLC. “LISC's commitment to Black and Brown entrepreneurs is commendable, and we are excited to contribute to Boston's transportation diversity.”
Pierre-Louis was recently featured in the Boston Globe for winning a contract to shuttle attendees during the NAACP conference.
LISC is recruiting candidates for investment and hopes that this fund will pave the way for additional investments. Entrepreneurs of color seeking capital may request further information by emailing LISC at LISCFinancingMA@lisc.org.
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Further information regarding the Massachusetts Small Business Growth Capital Fund is available at https://www.liscstrategicinvestments.org/massachusetts-small-business-equity. Interested small businesses may request more information by emailing LISC at LISCFinancingMA@lisc.org.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is one of the country’s largest community development organizations, helping forge vibrant, resilient communities across America. We work with residents and partners to close systemic gaps in health, wealth and opportunity and advance racial equity so that people and places can thrive. Since our founding in 1979, LISC has invested $26.7 billion to create more than 463,000 affordable homes and apartments, develop 78.5 million square feet of retail, community and educational space and help tens of thousands of people find employment and improve their finances. For more about LISC and our work in Massachusetts, visit www.lisc.org/Boston