Metro Credit Union

BOSTON, August 15, 2022 – The Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC), with support from Metro Credit Union (Metro CU), invites Latinx small business owners from across the country to apply for the first cohort specifically for the Latinx community of the Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) program – a tuition-free, 40-hour “mini-MBA” program that combines executive education, webinars, and coaching delivered by top-ranking university professors and business experts.

“Thriving small businesses are essential to a healthy community. Metro is pleased to offer our support for the ICCC program and its participants. The education each participant receives will assist in growing a healthy small business community. As a Juntos Avanzamos designated credit union, showing our support to the Latinx community through this program was a natural fit,” said Metro CU President & CEO Robert Cashman.

Entrepreneurs accepted into the ICCC program will participate in 40 hours of high-impact virtual learning that is divided into four components designed to maximize each participant’s experience and accommodate their busy schedules. The 2022 ICCC Latinx cohort is the first hosted entirely in Spanish and taught by culturally competent professors, coaches, and facilitators. It will address the unique experience and challenges faced by Latinx business owners. The Latinx cohort begins Tuesday, October 25, and Thursday, October 27. Interested business owners can apply in Spanish or English by Friday, September 30.

Since 2015, ICCC has helped more than 5,000 businesses access $2.35 billion in capital and create more than 23,600 jobs in their communities. In 2021, the initiative served more than 1,200 businesses in 21 markets, with 81% identifying as BIPOC-owned and 54% as women-owned businesses.

“ICIC recognizes the vitality and extraordinary potential of Latinx entrepreneurs both in Massachusetts and nationwide and has created this inaugural cohort to help accelerate their growth and profitability. We’re particularly grateful to Metro Credit Union which shares these urgent priorities, is committed to closing the racial wealth gap, and has invested generously to make this pioneering initiative possible,” said ICIC CEO Steve Grossman.

The ICCC program is designed to help small businesses located in underserved communities, particularly those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic, to develop strategies that build their capacity for sustainable growth and present opportunities to connect with capital sources to create jobs locally.

Throughout the program, participants will engage in webinars, digital learning sessions, and one-on-one business coaching appointments that tackle immediate challenges facing each business owner. The program culminates with a national conference that focuses on building strategies of strength and connecting participants with capital providers.

The application deadline for the 2022 ICCC Latinx Cohort is Friday, September 30. Visit ICIC’s website for additional detail about the ICCC program including eligibility criteria and applications, https://icic.org/urban-business-initiatives/inner-city-capital-connections/latinx/.

For more information or to speak with an ICIC subject matter expert, please contact André Ledgister at aledgister@icic.org or (617) 238-3012.

About Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC)
Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) was founded by renowned Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter in 1994 as a research and strategy organization that today is widely recognized as the preeminent authority on the economies of under-resourced communities. ICIC drives inclusive economic prosperity in under-resourced communities through innovative research and programs to create jobs, income, and wealth for local residents. Learn more at www.icic.org or @icicorg.

Inner City Capital Connections (ICCC) is a tuition-free executive leadership training program designed by ICIC to help business owners in under-resourced communities build capacity for sustainable growth in revenue, profitability, and employment. ICCC is uniquely designed to provide three critical elements for sustainable growth: capacity-building education, one-on-one coaching, and connections to capital and capital providers.

To learn more, visit icic.org.

About Metro Credit Union
Metro Credit Union is the largest state-chartered credit union in Massachusetts, with $3 billion in assets. Metro provides a full range of financial products to close to 200,000 members in Barnstable, Bristol, Essex, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth, Suffolk, and Worcester counties in Massachusetts, and Cheshire, Hillsborough, and Rockingham counties in New Hampshire. Metro is the credit union of choice for employees at over 1,200 companies through its Metro@work program.

Founded in 1926, Metro currently operates 19 branch offices in the Boston metropolitan area. Metro is a Juntos Avanzamos (“Together We Advance”) designated credit union, an honor given to financial institutions for their commitment to serving and empowering Hispanic and immigrant consumers. Metro was recently named among the most charitable companies in Massachusetts by the Boston Business Journal. Learn more at MetroCU.org.

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