Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. Partners with CNote

Ordinary People, Extraordinary Investing

ATLANTA (June 26, 2018) – Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE) has entered into a partnership with CNote to increase funding to support underserved small-business owners across Metro Atlanta and rural North Georgia. This partnership aligns with ACE’s new five-year plan to provide an additional $115 million in loans to the communities it serves. ACE and CNote share a vision to grow small businesses and help underserved communities thrive. CNote’s innovative approach to investing allows the consumer to invest their savings in causes they care about, while at the same time getting a financial return on their money.

“With CNote as a new capital source, ACE will be able to provide increased levels of debt capital, which facilitates our growth plan and helps support our lending capacity,” said Joshua Brackett, chief financial officer of ACE. “We look forward to a fruitful, long-term partnership with CNote. And we are particularly excited about what this means for our local businesses — more capital.”

Since 2000, ACE has loaned more than $53 million to over 840 entrepreneurs, which has created or saved more than 7,100 jobs in Georgia. ACE’s hallmark service is its combination of capital, coaching and connections. ACE serves underserved small-business owners of color, women, low-income entrepreneurs and others who lack equitable access to small-business financing.

"We're on a mission to build a more inclusive economy through thoughtful community investment,” said Yuliya Tarasava, CNote's chief operating officer and co-founder. “This partnership with ACE helps us achieve that goal one investment at a time. The entire CNote team is excited to work with an organization devoted to funding a diverse group of entrepreneurs that create jobs and strengthen our communities."

About Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs Inc. (ACE)

ACE is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and community development financial institution (CDFI) that provides loans and business consulting services to help borrowers throughout Metro Atlanta and North Georgia create and grow stable, sustainable businesses that generate jobs. ACE is supported by grants and other forms of funding from banks, foundations, government entities and corporations to assist in its mission to help underserved business owners. ACE has offices in downtown Atlanta and Cleveland, Ga., and an ACE Women’s Business Center in Norcross, Ga.

About CNote

CNote has created a new way to save, where you earn more on your savings with no minimums, fees or earning caps, all while helping to fund female and minority entrepreneurs, build low-income housing and finance other community development projects across the country. In CNote’s first full year of operation, their members helped create or maintain more than 800 jobs and have funded over 120 small businesses and entrepreneurs.