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A ‘hidden’ resource for funding small businesses – CDFIs. In this episode, we talk to Harold Pettigrew, the Executive Director of WACIF, a D.C. metropolitan area leading Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI). Learn more about the importance of the relationship between CDFIs and the community, how CDFIs get funded, and at what point an entrepreneur can seek funding from the institution.
The Get Found Get Funded podcast is at the intersection of entrepreneurship and social justice where we focus on entrepreneurship as a possible path to wealth creation — specifically for Black and Latinx communities.
Harold Pettigrew, Executive Director of the Washington Area Community Fund (WACIF). Harold is a Native Washingtonian who has over two decades of economic development experience. At the forefront of Harold’s mission is equitable development strategies and to increase business success for low-and moderate-income microbusiness owners.
01:03 Intro
01:16 Harold Pettigrew’s Background
01:56 CDFI Definition and Role
02:48 Why are CDFIs overlooked as funding options?
04:43 How is WACIF reaching out to people?
12:06 Using Data to Help Clients
13:36 WACIF Initiatives.
17:44 How do CDFIs get funded?
21:00 CDFI Misconceptions
27:41 WACIF Programs versus Loans
37:29 The Entrepreneurs of Color Fund
49:47 Changes to the Startup World
54:15 Outro
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