He shoots! He scores!
Magic Johnson has stepped up to assist with COVID-19 relief efforts in a new way, committing $100 million in loans to minority-owned small businesses, CNN reports.
Many small business owners have complained that they are not being approved for the loans included in the government’s massive stimulus package. The Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) has also been under fire with claims that they’re prioritizing corporations instead of the businesses who need it most.
Now the two-time Hall of Famer has stepped in to assist, offering $100 million in loans to women and people of color running businesses in underserved communities.
“We knew why the money was gone and couldn’t trickle down to small businesses, especially small minority businesses, because they didn’t have those great relationships with the banks,” Johnson told the Wall Street Journal.
Johnson’s EquiTrust Life Insurance Company and MBE Capital Partners, a New Jersey based lending company specializing in loans for women and minority owned businesses, will team up to distribute the loans. The first round of funding will be allocated to the 5,000 PPP loans MBE has already approved.
“Johnson’s EquiTrust is providing critical financial support to underserved communities and businesses that have been traditionally neglected. These small and diverse businesses often have difficulty developing strong lending relationships with big banks,” EquiTrust and MBE Capital Partners said in a statement.
“These are incredible businesses, small businesses, that have been the pillar of our community that also employ a lot of black and brown people in our community… We wanted to make sure that minority-owned businesses got small business loans through the PPP program,” Johnson said.
For more information on how to apply, click here.
Thank you for everything you’re doing for our communities Magic!
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