12 April 2011
Credit where it’s due
Congratulations have been pouring in from our members and stakeholders about our successful Regional Growth Fund bid. It is the single biggest investment in the sector’s history. We are absolutely delighted, as there was fierce competition for the funding and the vast majority of applications were turned down. The bid process was a brilliant piece of collaborative working between our members, banks and other stakeholders. Many of our supporters wrote to BIS to say how important the bid was – so we thank everyone who has been involved – we couldn’t have done it without you.
The recognition by government and banks of the importance of our work is real progress and creates a step change in our industry, one which we are ready to take.
But the real winners of the bid are the businesses that will now be able to access credit that they couldn’t get before. We know how vital SMEs are to the backbone of the economy and those in disadvantaged communities or undeserved markets have particular needs that CDFIs support with niche services. Those are the businesses and entrepreneurs that will benefit most from this investment and we are proud to serve them.
Read the cdfa press release on the announcement here