Etsy, the handmade craft marketplace, announced the creation of the Etsy Impact Investment Fund, which will spend $30 million in impact investments aimed at economic empowerment and sustainability.
Chelsea Mozen, Etsy's Senior Director of Impact & Sustainability, stated in a blog entry announcing the new fund:
"Etsy's investments in this fund are consistent with our impact goals of accelerating the development of the creative economy, supporting financially underserved communities, and promoting environmental sustainability."
Grameen America, an organisation that provides capital, training, and support to aspiring women business owners from low-income and marginalised communities, and renewable energy investment firm Greenbacker Capital Management are among the first allocations from the fund, which was established in partnership with impact investing platform ImpactAssets Capital Partners.
Grameen America's President and CEO, Andrea Jung, stated:
"Thanks to Etsy's generous support, Grameen America will be able to provide more women business owners with affordable capital and financial resources, allowing them to grow and thrive."
Greenbacker Capital Management President Charles Wheeler added:
"We are thrilled for Etsy to join our efforts to help communities across the United States run on clean power through this partnership and initial investment."
The new impact fund news comes on the heels of Etsy's announcement in 2021 of the Etsy Uplift Fund, which was created to support non-profits working to lower barriers to entrepreneurship and create opportunities for economically disadvantaged communities.
Along with the launch of the impact fund, Etsy announced new Uplift Fund partnerships, including one with Grameen America to provide digital business education training and financial services to entrepreneurs, another with AltCap to provide microloans for artists and creative entrepreneurs in Kansas, Missouri, and Texas, and new small business grant programme partnerships with Hello Alice and the Global Entrepreneurship Network. (GEN).
Mozen stated:
"We've learned from previous work that when people have access to the resources they need to thrive, they are able to uplift not only themselves, but their families, communities, and local economies as well."
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