Maryland Capital Enterprises Announces Grant from Wells Fargo Bank to Assist Small Businesses Negatively Impacted by Covid-19

Maryland Capital Enterprises, Inc. (MCE) is pleased to announce that it has been selected by Wells Fargo Bank to receive a $750,000 grant, as part of the Wells Fargo’s Open for Business Fund, to support MCE’s operating expenses, and to direct resources to small businesses negatively impacted by Covid-19. Through the Open for Business Fund, Wells Fargo provides support for nonprofit organizations who serve small businesses, particularly businesses owned by underrepresented individuals — a group disproportionately affected by the pandemic — to provide needed capital, offer technical support, and develop long-term resiliency programs.

MCE is a private, nonprofit, Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides access to capital and free technical assistance to small businesses located on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Baltimore City, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County. Our mission is to empower businesses to grow, create jobs, and generate wealth across Maryland. MCE is the only CDFI in the State of Maryland with all four lender certifications: United States Department of Treasury Intermediary Lender, a Small Business Administration (SBA) Intermediary Lender, an United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Intermediary Lender, and a State of Maryland Departments of Commerce (DOC) and Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Intermediary Lender. We are also proud to operate two Women’s Business Centers – one in Salisbury and one opening in Baltimore City.

A portion of the Wells Fargo grant funds will be used for businesses impacted by Covid-19 in our service area. MCE will use the funds to provide at least 20, low-interest loans, from $5,000 to $20,000 at three percent, with 10 or less employees whose operations have been significantly impacted by the coronavirus. No collateral is required. Maurice Ames, MCE’s Executive Director, states “These low-interest loans for Maryland’s small businesses provide vital funding at this critical time, allowing businesses to stay open. Wells Fargo supports and understands the needs of small businesses and is providing these funds in the hopes that MCE may assist as many entrepreneurs as possible, with businesses that may have been overlooked by other Covid-relief programs”.

“The Open for Business Fund enlists the care and expertise of organizations like Maryland
Capital Enterprises to urgently assist the small business community with the capital and
technical assistance needed to preserve jobs throughout Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Baltimore
City, Baltimore County, and Anne Arundel County.” said Jenny Flores, Head of Small Business
Growth Philanthropy at Wells Fargo. “By working with these organizations and other CDFIs, we
can ensure that local minority-owned small businesses receive the resources necessary to
navigate the economic impacts of COVID-19 at this critical time.”

Since 2016 alone, MCE has served over 1,100 clients, providing 19,000 hours of technical assistance in over more than 1,900 individual sessions. Additionally, over 3,000 people attended classroom training sessions, in person and online, where over 7,400 hours of training was provided. In that time, we have closed over 250 loans totaling $8,372,241, creating over 300 new full-time-equivalent jobs and retaining over 800 jobs for Maryland.

For more information about the Covid-19 loans, or to apply, please visit www.marylandcapital.org or call Nick Rudolph, Baltimore Regional Director, at nrudolph@marylandcapital.org or at 410-900-5715.
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