KALAMAZOO, MI — A group of Black men in Kalamazoo have launched a $50 million investment fund to support business ventures by underrepresented founders.
The organization, Kalamazoo Forward Ventures, was announced on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The fund is separated into three business areas: venture capital, real estate and main street businesses.
The fund claims to be the first of its kind led by Black men in Southwest Michigan, said Jamauri Bogan, a local real estate developer and KFV partner said.
“Today marks the launch of something truly special — a fund that seeks to invest not just in ideas, but in people, in communities and in untapped potential” said Bobby Hopewell, one of the partners and a former mayor of Kalamazoo.
Other partners in the fund include The Kalamazoo Promise Executive Director of Community Relations Von Washington, Eric Wimbley, Eric Cunningham and Dwayne Powell Jr.
“Underrepresented” groups the KFV is targeting includes racial and gender minorities and disabled individuals, Hopewell said.
The primary investment focus will be in Kalamazoo and Southwest Michigan, Hopewell said. But pitches from businesses in other locations will be heard as well.
Underrepresented founders are less likely to have access to capital investments in their businesses, Hopewell said. They also are less likely to have connections with coaches and mentors that can “open doors” to new opportunities.
“We want to be an organization that is opening doors,” Hopewell said. “Not just providing capital, but really providing those connections, helping build relationships, helping be a voice, to strengthen voice in all these folks.”
Investing in underrepresented groups is expected to benefit the Kalamazoo-area economy, according to the KFV website.
“These businesses have the potential to generate significant revenue and create jobs, particularly in underserved neighborhoods,” the website says.
Real estate investments will focus on residential and mixed-use projects with a priority on affordable and workforce housing, according to the KFV website.
“Stringent financial requirements such as net worth, liquidity and guarantor demands, alongside the need for pre-development funding, make entry and growth in the real estate industry difficult for underrepresented groups,” the KFV website says.
The idea for the fund came about two years ago, Cunningham said, inspired by the aftermath of the pandemic.
“Seeing how marginalized communities got impacted harder … it was interesting,” Cunningham said.
After the economy rebounded, the inequities in place prior to the pandemic were still prevalent, Cunningham said. In the planning process, Cunningham said the partners looked into community needs. Those needs shaped the “three-prong” investment approach.
“Community members needed these opportunities and access to capital to take their plans and ideas to the next step,” Cunningham said.
The $50 million KFV has to invest came from multiple “limited partners,” Cunningham said. The pitches KFV invests in are expected to be profitable, so KFV will have more funds to invest in future ventures, Cunningham said.
Applications to make a pitch can be completed on the KFV website. Pitches will be considered on a “case by case basis,” Cunningham said.
“We’re really just looking for the opportunity to work with any and everybody in our community,” Cunningham said.
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