Wells Fargo announces $1.5 million investment to support Black entrepreneurs and small business owners

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The holiday season started early at The Russell Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship (RICE). 

The hub for Black-owned business owners and entrepreneurs in Atlanta’s Castleberry Hill neighborhood received a $1.5 million philanthropic investment from Wells Fargo on Tuesday during a holiday event at the center. 

The funding will go towards developing 100 small business owners through RICE’s “Supply Chain Accelerator,” building out the Wells Fargo Learning Lab, and funding RICE entrepreneurs through 50 small business micro grants. 

“We all know small businesses are in fact the backbone to our community,” Mike Donnelly, Executive Vice President of Consumer Small and Business Banking for Wells Fargo in Atlanta, said during the event. “Today is about celebrating the work RICE does day-in and day-out to build a strong and vibrant small business community here in Atlanta.”

But the gift giving didn’t stop there. 

During The Russell Center’s pop-up holiday market on Tuesday, which featured local business owners, Wells Fargo and RICE surprised five business owners with a combination of grants and resources specifically tailored to their companies’ needs. The gifts ranged from a laser cutting machine to a vending cart to a $5,000 grant check to help businesses grow. 

The RICE-selected entrepreneurs selected include: 

• Louis Deas, CEO of Try Deas and Other Treats
• Marsha Francis, Founder of STE(A)M Truck
• Evana & Zoe Oli, Co-founders of Beautiful Curly Me
• KaCey Venning, Co-Founder of HEY! Helping Empower Youth
• Tony Cruver, CEO of Cruvie Clothing Company

Evana & Zoe Oli, Co-founders of Beautiful Curly Me

Inside The Russell Center 

Named after Herman Russell, the Atlanta business legend and founder of the largest minority-owned real estate and construction business in the United States, RICE is currently going through a big transformation. 

After launching in 2019, RICE is in the midst of an over $44 million capital campaign that will go towards physical expansion of the center. Over the last year, RICE has also inked other grants from corporate giants like PayPal and Walmart as it looks to expand its reach across the Atlanta community and beyond. 

“This has to be a generational play,” RICE’s President and CEO Jay Bailey said on Tuesday. “What we do today to set that foundation will impact [generations] yet unborn…This has to be the institution that continues to be a beacon on the hill for those who dream.”

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Photos provided by RICE