Goldman launches $500 million project to assist small businesses
- Source: Global Times
- [16:12 November 18 2009]
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Goldman Sachs Group Inc. announced Tuesday it is launching a $500 million small-business assistance program to let small businesses have access to business education, mentors and financial capital .
According to Goldman, the "10,000 Small Businesses" project will include $200 million for community colleges and universities around the US to fund training and educational opportunities for underserved business owners. The remaining $300 million will be used as a combination of loans and donations to support Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), including banks, credit unions and investment funds that target low-income and disadvantaged populations.
The project will be guided by an advisory council with Goldman's CEO Lloyd C. Blankfein, the bank's largest shareholder, Warren Buffett, and Michael Porter, professor of Harvard business school, serving as co-chairmen.
The initiative is aimed at unlocking "the growth and job creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across the United States through greater access to business education, mentors and networks, and financial capital," Goldman Sachs said in a statement.
However, over the last six months, the balance of the bank's outstanding loans to small businesses has been cut by $191 million to stand at $3.8 billion, according to a Treasury report released this week.
"We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret, we apologize," Blankfein said at a corporate conference in New York on Tuesday.
This initiative was the second big charitable commitment made by Goldman this year. In October, the firm announced a $200 million contribution to the Goldman Sachs Foundation. In 2008, Goldman launched its "10,000 Women" effort to provide women in emerging markets with a business education.
