From the Ground Up: How Business Can Drive Financial Inclusion
Join Merck KGaA, CNote and 3BL Media on December 14 at 1 p.m. ET to learn how businesses can use an innovative model to meet their DE&I targets.
Across the U.S., limited access to financial services continues to hold many communities back. As companies look to invest in the communities in which they do business, efforts to improve financial inclusion can have a positive impact through generating small business growth, expanding affordable housing and offering more opportunities for individuals to build income and wealth.
In a recent example of this model in action, science and technology company Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, made a $20 million investment this fall with CNote, a women-led impact investment platform. The investment will provide capital to support BIPOC-owned (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) and women-led small businesses and bolster economic growth and opportunity.
To learn more, join Jeffrey Whitford, Head of Sustainability and Social Business Innovation for the Life Science business sector of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, CNote CEO Catherine Berman, and 3BL Media on Wednesday, December 14 at 1 p.m. ET as they discuss this beneficial partnership and how other businesses can apply this novel model to meet their diversity, equity and inclusion goals. Register for this free webcast here.
CNote deploys investor funds into deposit and loan products at community financial institutions that serve small businesses owned by women and people of color, fund affordable housing, and support other forms of economic inclusion. Merck KGaA Darmstadt, Germany’s investment targets U.S. regions where the company has substantial operations, including Arizona, California, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
The focus on community financial institutions with a proven track record of serving the under-resourced has big potential for positive impact — and offers valuable lessons other business leaders can apply as they look to build tangible investment programs with comprehensive impact reporting.
