KeyBank Invests $300,000 in Cincinnati Minority Business Accelerator to Give Emerging Minority-Owned Businesses Resources to Grow, Scale, and Create Jobs in Southwest Ohio

KeyBank and the KeyBank Foundation announced an investment of $300,000 in Cincinnati’s Minority Business Accelerator (Accelerator), an affiliate of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, to grow, scale and create jobs and economic vibrancy. The goal is to identify and provide intensive and customized services to a minimum of 25 high-potential minority-owned businesses for the duration of the three-year grant, for a total of 75 high-potential businesses.

Through a combination of the Accelerator's full-time staff and a pool of consultants and subject matter experts, the Accelerator will serve as a "one stop shop" to provide a comprehensive set of support resources to the emerging minority business enterprises (MBEs).

Support of the MBEs include:

• Strategy and growth plan development
• Preparation for and access to capital, including debt, equity, and alternative financing solutions stemming from comprehensive financial assessments and the accompanying detailed projections
• Operations and management technical assistance
• Preparation for and access to new client opportunities
• Marketing support

"KeyBank is deeply committed to providing support to local organizations and programs that are focused on empowering individuals for long-term success," stated Jennifer Damiano, KeyBank Cincinnati Market President. "Over the course of two decades, the Accelerator has played a pivotal role in establishing a robust support ecosystem for local minority-owned businesses. This has not only led to the creation of numerous job opportunities, but also to increased investment prospects and a more vibrant local economy. We truly appreciate the invaluable contributions of the Accelerator and eagerly anticipate the ongoing success and impact of this organization."

"We are super-excited to build on our existing partnership with KeyBank as this additional support will enable us to strengthen our pipeline building activities in identifying emerging and high-potential minority-owned businesses,” said Darrin Redus, CEO of the Accelerator. "We further look forward to partnering across the various business lines of KeyBank as this is truly a collaborative and intentional effort to strengthen economic and business opportunities for underserved segments of our population".

The Accelerator, founded 20 years ago, is a nationally recognized best-practice initiative for developing larger-scale, job-creating MBEs. Since launching, the organization has maintained a specific and dedicated focus on preparing African American and Hispanic owned businesses to grow the types of scalable and competitive enterprises that deliver jobs, wealth and economic impact for communities of color and the broader region as a whole.

The organization has an impressive track record of success in optimizing the growth of minority-owned firms. MBEs working with the Accelerator have achieved approximately $2 billion in aggregate annual revenues, created over 3,500 sustainable jobs and have averaged double-digit annual growth since the program debuted.

ABOUT KEYCORP 
KeyCorp's roots trace back nearly 200 years to Albany, New York. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $187 billion at June 30, 2024.

Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit https://www.key.com/. KeyBank Member FDIC.

ABOUT CINCINNATI MINORITY BUSINESS ACCELERATOR 
The Minority Business Accelerator is the flagship economic development initiative of the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber. Our mission is to increase economic inclusion and empowerment in the Cincinnati region by providing customized analysis, resources, and funding to accelerate the growth of scalable minority-owned businesses. Our focus is on serving scalable, underserved African American and Hispanic-owned businesses in partnership with targeted regional and national stakeholders aligned around the shared mission of accelerating high growth minority business development. Our core values are rooted in Trust, Inclusion & Excellence which represent the values that TIE us together.