Miami Open for Business was a pandemic-era initiative funded by a $20 million Wells Fargo grant and administered by The Miami Foundation, focused on historically underserved small business owners and nonprofits in Miami-Dade County.

The Technology and Equipment Microgrant component provided up to $20,000 for purchasing technology assets or equipment—such as pedicure chairs or kitchen equipment—distributed to more than 370 businesses and nonprofits. The program also included the Asset Building Loan for Entrepreneurs (ABLE), offering low-interest loans up to $100,000, and CREO, a forgivable loan up to $500,000 for collective commercial real estate ownership.

Launched in 2022, this program prioritized women-led and minority-owned businesses and has now concluded its initial distribution phase.

Miami Open For Business | The Miami Foundation Miami Open for Business was a pandemic-era initiative made possible by a $20 million grant from Wells Fargo.

The pandemic laid bare the inequities that exist in small business entrepreneurship: while minorities and women are creating and growing businesses at a faster rate than their peers, they tend to have lower revenue and receive fewer loan approvals, among other challenges, all of which were worsened by the pandemic.

For this reason, Wells Fargo poured back into small businesses in five key cities across the country, including Miami – creating Miami Open for Business. Launched in 2022, this program had an explicit focus on asset-building and asset ownership to make small businesses (and nonprofits, which were also eligible to benefit from the program) more resilient and capable of building generational wealth.

ARE WOMEN-LED ORGANIZATIONS The Miami Open for Business Approach The program prioritized small business owners and nonprofit leaders in specific Miami communities that have been historically overlooked and underinvested. We developed two core ways to serve them: by providing financing and technical assistance.

$15 million was distributed in the form of three financial products, informed by deeply listening to stakeholders and small businesses in the community: View Full Awardee Gallery Technology and Equipment Microgrant A grant of up to $20,000 that allowed entrepreneurs to invest in their business through the purchase of a technology asset or a piece of equipment, such as a pizza oven or pedicure chair.

distributed to 370+ businesses and nonprofits Asset Building Loan for Entrepreneurs (ABLE) A low-interest loan of up to $100,000 that helped businesses and nonprofits buy inventory or a vehicle, remodel their property, or refinance predatory debt, among other purposes. Repayments will allow initial grant funds to be recycled into future community development projects.

distributed to nearly 60 borrowers Collective Real Estate Ownership (CREO) A fully forgivable loan of up to $500,000 to help small business owners and nonprofit leaders make a down payment on commercial real estate in a historically underinvested community. Properties had to be held in a collective ownership model with another business or organization to spur shared equity.

allocated to help close 15 deals housing almost 40 businesses and nonprofits, demonstrating the multiplier effect of collective ownership We thank our key financial partner, Partners for Self Employment , led by Maria Coto and Gilda Torres, for their invaluable support in managing the small business microgrant and ABLE loan components of this program. Miami Open for Business also empowered entrepreneurs with knowledge.

Nearly $2 million was used to build a community of technical assistance providers across target communities in Miami who helped businesses apply for financing, organize their books, better understand marketing, and more. Technical assistance providers collectively provided over 1,300 businesses with more than 15,000 hours of assistance. Roll over the logos to see which neighborhoods these providers served.

Outside of the technical assistance program, Miami Open for Business also hosted a series of small business workshops, including what is understood to be South Florida’s first-ever commercial real estate first-time buyer workshop.

Served: All of Miami-Dade County Served: All of Miami-Dade County Served: Florida City & Homestead Served: Liberty City & Little Haiti Served: North Miami & North Miami Beach Served: Little Havana & Hialeah Served: Opa Locka & Miami Gardens Miami Open for Business Publications Small Business Local Gift Guide Small Business Policy Report by Catalyst Miami Miami Open for Business Video Library Grand opening of Roots Books and Market Black-led Small Business Stories Open for Business Celebration Collective Real Estate Ownership (CREO) Miami OFB | State of Black Philanthropy 2024 The Lessons Learned – And Opportunities Recognized: We learned the importance of providing culturally appropriate technical assistance, which is necessary to overcome digital and financial literacy challenges, along with language and cultural barriers.

We learned the importance of working with trusted community-based partners ; support is more accessible when it’s decentralized, and trusted partners helped us be nimbler and more innovative. We recognized the challenges of navigating commercial real estate , specifically the limited options for financial support.

We see an opportunity to build a regional philanthropic impact investing alliance where financial resources can be pooled in support of community development projects. Miami Open for Business News & Blog Archive Type and Press “enter” to Search Please Note: We never use WhatsApp/TikTok/Calls/Texts to solicit funds or investments of any kind. Beware of scams using any foundation’s name, including ours.

Looking for help with your small business? Unfortunately, The Miami Open for Business program has concluded. We appreciate your interest in the Miami Open for Business program.

If you are a small business looking for resources please check out the Strive 305 Hub . The platform hosts a collection of tools covering essential topics like business planning, financial management, marketing strategies, and operational excellence. Learn more below No thanks, I’m not interested!