Eric Foster Helps Black Entreprenuers Overcome Economic Barriers
Every now and then you meet a young man who stands out from the crowd because of his obvious drive to accomplish goals that he has set for himself. One such young man is Grand Rapidian Eric Foster. In this interview with the GR Times, he discusses his self - started business, the mission of the company, racial barriers he has faced and more.
GRT: What do you do?
Foster: I am Lead Founder and Managing Director of Rende Progress Capital. We are three years young and are the nation's only racial equity loan fund and emerging community development financial institution.
Our mission is to provide small business loans to what we term excluded entrepreneurs of color who face barriers to have loans from traditional banks, either because of racial bias or size of their business. We are dedicated to providing alternative capital to business groups or owners who have barriers that they face where they can't get loans from banks.
We are one of the few in West Michigan and in terms of the local area, we are the only entity that was created, founded and managed by people of color. It is the only entity that was born with the goal starting our small business lending for businesses of color in the Grand Rapids area.
GRT: How did you get the idea of starting the company?
Foster: I founded the company as leading founder because it was a WK Kellogg fellowship program project of mine.
Three years ago I had the honor to be chosen among two hundred other professionals to be a Kellogg fellow to increase our learning in the areas that we have focused on and have helped the community.
I was, of course, coming from a business economic angle because I was one of the few business owners in the program.
I wanted to do more to help businesses of color and their families get past the barriers that they face and capitalizing on their business with a loan.
We know that business of color, particularly African American have a thirty-six percent higher loan denial rate from banks than their White peers. And it doesn't change dramatically even when those business of color and their White peers have the same good credit worthiness. They either get less money or still don't get a loan.
Knowing that economics and business ownership is one of four ways for people of color to achieve racial equity, I came up with this project, which was something that I didn't expect that I would actually create.
I thought that I would write a paper on it to advance the encouragement for someone to do it and I just decided that I was going to create and launch the business. It was just through the grace of God, because I didn't plan for any of this. I had enough to do with my own business, but here we are.
GRT: Tell me a little about the first business that you started?
Foster: It is called Progress Strategies. It is a project management company that serves companies and organizations in areas such as corporate social responsibility and also diversity and inclusion training.
They need to do better in the community in addition to making profits.
GRT: What is your educational background?
Foster: I graduated with a degree in political science and psychology from Hope College.
These that I will mention are not degree programs. Later in life, I further honed my skills in executive education in project management at North Western University and Intercultural Management at the University of Notre Dame.
GRT: How did racism motivate you to be an entrepreneur?
Foster: First, I didn't grow up being rich. I had a hard working mother who persevered herself at General Motors and other factories to give me a better way of life. I knew that as I grew up, I would face racial and economic challenges.
Before coming back home to Michigan, I worked in Washington D.C. for about nine years and that opened so many doors to experiences with racism during my time working at the United State Congress to coming back here where I knew that I could persevere, I did have my set backs. From the day-to-day explicit racism to people saying and racial epitaphs to people making assumptions about me that I would not adequately put merit in the work that I have done.
The third point is that I knew all of that so I knew eleven years ago that I would create my own company. I even saved and self-invested, because I knew of the potential and inevitability of not being able to start my business through any bank loans. I thought to myself that if I am going this then what are other businesses and entrepreneurs going through?
GRT: How do you prepare yourself to deal with racism?
Foster: Three week's ago Rende Progress Capital experienced some explicit instances of racism and the first thing going through that is simply knowing what my predecessors and ancestors have gone through.
So that totally eclipsed the challenges of racism that I have gone through. When you are able to take inventory on that, you first know that, number one, I didn't have it nearly as bad and the second, I was taught by my mother, my grandfather and others that facing racism is inevitable.
As I grew up, as I went to college and as I became a working adult, they told me and prepared me for those challenges of racism, even if I was at an age where I didn't understand the concept. Because they did that, when those instances of racism happened, I was already aware and knew that I have to keep going, not for my self - purpose, but for others.
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