Black Restaurant Fund
Capital is critical to small business growth and success.
The Black Restaurant Fund invests in the growth of Black-owned restaurants and food service businesses, filling historic capital gaps in financing.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
*This video is just an example of how the program could work and is not an outline of terms nor represent all scenarios.
ABOUT THE BLACK RESTAURANT FUND
Capital is critical to small business growth and success, but many Black restaurant owners don’t have access to it because their communities have historically been locked out of economic opportunity. Consequently, Black-owned restaurants fail in higher numbers than those with white owners. If they survive, they grow more slowly, produce lower profits, hire fewer employees, and are less able to fuel wealth creation. [1]
LISC created the Black Restaurant Fund, made possible by a donation from Uber, to bridge this capital gap by creating an equity-like investment fund to invest in the growth of Black-owned restaurants and food service businesses, with the objective of building a sustainable investment model to seed wealth building in Black communities.
[1] Small Business Labs: Number of Minority Owned US Small Businesses Growing Rapidly
What does the fund provide?
The Black Restaurant Fund provides growth capital to Black restaurants and those serving the Black community. Growth Capital is an innovative financing product that gives business owners the time they need to invest in and stabilize their companies. Unlike loan products, growth capital does not have fixed repayment terms; instead it is designed as a long-term investment where businesses repay only when they are successful in growing their revenue.
The Black Restaurant Fund aims to:
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Build wealth for Black restaurant owners and undercapitalized communities
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Create and retain sustainable jobs
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Build a track record of success for small business owners to attract future investment dollars
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Offer flexible re-payment terms based on revenue and mutually agreed-upon targets
How do we invest?
LISC makes growth capital investments in restaurants ranging from $25,000 to a maximum of $250,000 with flexible repayment terms.
Restaurants may use these funds to support growth and expansion plans such as:
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Expanding into new locations
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Diversifying into new product lines, business lines, or business strategies
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Streamlining, automating, or creating efficiencies in business processes
Who is Encouraged to Apply?
The Black Restaurant Fund focuses on restaurants or food service businesses, especially those that are:
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Black-owned restaurants and those serving the Black community
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Earning annual revenues above $250,000 and below $3,000,000
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In operation for at least two years, with an ability to deploy capital toward business improvement and growth
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Active Uber Eats partner (verified by Uber)
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Located in an economically disadvantaged community
* Sole proprietors and non-profit organizations are ineligible for this particular program. Be sure to check LISC’s COVID-19 Resource Page: https://www.lisc.org/covid-19/covid-resources/ for the latest resources available to nonprofit organizations and individuals.
Supported by:
“Black-owned restaurants have historically been locked out of economic opportunity, which limits their ability to grow and thrive. Uber created the Black Restaurant Fund with LISC to help close the resource gap by connecting Black food entrepreneurs to flexible capital to fuel growth and expansion while seeding wealth creation in Black communities.”
- Julia Paige, Uber
The investment pools sponsored by LISC are available only to eligible investors, are offered only pursuant to their official offering documents, and are managed by LISC Fund Management, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of LISC. LISC Fund Management is an investment adviser registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Registration of an investment adviser with the SEC does not imply any level of skill or training. Please visit the SEC’s website at www.adviserinfo.sec.gov to see LISC Fund Management’s Form ADV, which contains important disclosures, including further disclosures about material conflicts of interest, risks, and limitations associated with LISC Fund Management.