The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
NEW YORK, United States — Bank of America pledged an additional $50 million for women-owned businesses backed by fashion designer Tory Burch's foundation, doubling its commitment from five years ago.
The bank plans to fund community development financial institutions, or CDFIs, that can lend to female entrepreneurs who might not qualify for traditional credit, said Andrew Plepler, global head of environmental, social and governance initiatives. In the past five years, more than 2,500 women have received $46 million in small-business loans from participating CDFIs, he said. Those loans were for an average of $16,000 over three to five years, at typical interest rates of about 8 percent to 10 percent.
“Women are a great investment,” Burch said in an emailed response to questions. “They pay back their loans faster than men, and the CDFIs we work with report a repayment rate of over 90 percent. If an entrepreneur receives a loan through our capital programme, it will help her access capital later.”
The ultimate goal of the programme is “to build a pipeline of women-entrepreneur businesses that can grow and expand and ultimately get larger sums of capital from financial institutions,” Plepler said.
ADVERTISEMENT
In November, the Charlotte, North Carolina-based bank also started an online course with Cornell University aimed at female entrepreneurs.
“We are very focused on empowering women,’’ said Sharon Miller, head of small business at Bank of America.
By Lananh Nguyen; editors: Michael J. Moore, Daniel Taub and Dan Reichl.
In 2020, like many companies, the $50 billion yoga apparel brand created a new department to improve internal diversity and inclusion, and to create a more equitable playing field for minorities. In interviews with BoF, 14 current and former employees said things only got worse.
For fashion’s private market investors, deal-making may provide less-than-ideal returns and raise questions about the long-term value creation opportunities across parts of the fashion industry, reports The State of Fashion 2024.
A blockbuster public listing should clear the way for other brands to try their luck. That, plus LVMH results and what else to watch for in the coming week.
L Catterton, the private-equity firm with close ties to LVMH and Bernard Arnault that’s preparing to take Birkenstock public, has become an investment giant in the consumer-goods space, with stakes in companies selling everything from fashion to pet food to tacos.