Supported by JPMorganChase and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, the new coordinated effort strengthens Washington, DC’s small business ecosystem and expands financial health support for entrepreneurs.

The Washington Area Community Investment Fund (WACIF) today announced the launch of the SmallBiz Support League, a coordinated effort to strengthen the Washington, D.C. region’s small business ecosystem and expand financial health support for entrepreneurs.  The League — made up of Arlington BizLaunch, LISC DC, Momentus Capital , FSC First, and Industrial Bank — advances the Small Business Ecosystem Initiative, launched earlier this year by WACIF, supported by JPMorganChase, and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth.

About the SmallBiz Support League

For nearly four decades, WACIF has played a central role in supporting entrepreneurs across the Washington, D.C. region by providing access to capital, technical assistance, and strategic partnerships. Earlier this year, WACIF launched the Small Business Ecosystem Initiative to strengthen coordination across the region’s small business support landscape, supported by JPMorganChase and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. 

The SmallBiz Support League is one component of that work: a partnership through which WACIF and five organizations identify opportunities for alignment across their services and inform the build-out of a shared referral system giving entrepreneurs clearer more consistent pathways to capital and support. 

Meet the SmallBiz Support League

The SmallBiz Support League is made up of five partner organizations working alongside WACIF. Together, these organizations align services, share data, and coordinate support for entrepreneurs across the region: 

• Arlington Economic Development BizLaunch — Arlington County’s small business assistance program, offering counseling, workshops, and resources to help entrepreneurs start and grow their businesses. To date, BizLaunch has supported over 75,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners since its founding in 2002.
• LISC DC — A community development organization driving affordable housing and forging vibrant, resilient communities across America. Through innovative, community-centric programs, LISC works with residents and partners across the region to close gaps in health, wealth, and opportunity.
• FSC First — A mission-driven CDFI and CDC serving businesses throughout the State of Maryland, Washington, DC, and Northern Virginia, providing access to capital through loans and flexible financing solutions, complemented by financial counseling, technical assistance, and business support to help entrepreneurs build capacity and achieve sustainable growth.
• Industrial Bank — A Black-owned, CDFI-certified community bank serving DC, Maryland, and beyond with commercial banking and lending products designed to expand capital access.
• Momentus Capital — A branded family of mission-driven organizations, including Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance, offering flexible financing, business advising, impact investing and networks to entrepreneurs and community leaders.

Why JP Morgan Chase and Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth Invested in This Work

Shannan Herbert WACIF CEO says “We called this the SmallBiz Support League because that’s exactly what it is. A team of mission-driven organizations showing up for entrepreneurs across our region. For nearly four decades, WACIF has been a part of this region’s ecosystem and this league is a natural next step in that work. It gives us an opportunity to better implement the kind of change our small business community has been asking for. By centering the client experience and using data from across our institutions, we can work together in ways that better serve entrepreneurs.”

“Small businesses are essential to creating vibrant communities and expanding economic opportunity,” said Nadine Duplessy Kearns, Vice President and Program Officer, Global Philanthropy, JPMorganChase. “By strengthening coordination across the organizations that serve entrepreneurs, the SmallBiz Support League will help create clearer pathways to capital and support, enabling more small businesses across the Washington, D.C., region to start, grow, and thrive.”

“Strengthening the small business ecosystem in the DMV region requires deeper and more coordinated collaboration among the organizations that support local entrepreneurs,” said Jonathan Fantini-Partner, Senior Vice President of Americas at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth. “The SmallBiz Support League provides the infrastructure and roadmap necessary to help drive greater collaboration, and ultimately strengthen the financial health of small businesses across the region.”

DMV Entrepreneurs and Small Businesses Face Challenges Securing Financial Resources and Support

The Initiative comes at a critical moment for the Washington, DC region’s small business community. While entrepreneurship remains a key pathway to economic mobility and community wealth-building, many entrepreneurs continue to face significant challenges when seeking the financial resources and support necessary to grow their businesses. 

These challenges are especially pronounced in communities east of the Anacostia River. According to the Urban Institute, businesses in Ward 8 receive just 2.3% of all working capital distributed in the District, highlighting the urgent need for more coordinated support systems. 

As new development and investment continue to reshape neighborhoods east of the Anacostia River, ensuring that longtime residents and local entrepreneurs can participate in—and benefit from—that growth is critical to their long-term success. Strengthening the small business support ecosystem and expanding access to financial health resources will help entrepreneurs in communities like Wards 5, 7, and 8 build sustainable businesses, create local jobs, and prosper in place as the city evolves.

How the SmallBiz Support League Expands Access to Capital and Support in the Greater DC Area

Over the next few years, WACIF’s Small Business Ecosystem Initiative will work to strengthen the region’s small business support landscape through three core strategies: direct services, systems change, and ecosystem collaboration. The SmallBiz Support League is the primary vehicle for the third strategy – ecosystem collaboration – bringing partner organizations together to identify opportunities for alignment and inform the build-out of a referral system that gives entrepreneurs up-front, up-to-date visibility into the region’s capital resources and lending opportunities.

This initiative builds upon WACIF’s long-standing commitment to expanding economic opportunity for entrepreneurs and reflects a shared commitment among all six member organizations to increase economic opportunity for low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs.

By strengthening collaboration across the DC region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, the SmallBiz Support League will help ensure that small businesses—particularly those in DC’s Wards 5, 7, and 8—have the resources and connections needed to prosper in place and participate fully in the city’s economic growth.

About the Washington Area Community Investment Fund

Established in 1987, the Washington Area Community Investment Fund’s mission is to increase equity and economic opportunity in underserved communities in the Washington, DC area by investing knowledge, social, and financial capital in low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. Our mission is driven by three strategic pillars: inclusive entrepreneurship, community wealth building, and equitable economic development, and is fulfilled by providing access to capital products and services, and capacity building technical assistance to low- and moderate-income entrepreneurs. WACIF has been continuously certified as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) since 1996, making the organization one of the nation’s first CDFIs. 

About JPMorganChase 

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) is a leading financial services firm based in the United States of America (“U.S.”), with operations worldwide. JPMorganChase had $5.0 trillion in assets and $375 billion in stockholders’ equity as of June 30, 2026. The Firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers and small businesses, commercial banking, financial transaction processing and asset management. Under the J.P. Morgan and Chase brands, the Firm serves millions of customers in the U.S., and many of the world’s most prominent corporate, institutional and government clients globally. Information about JPMorgan Chase & Co. is available at www.jpmorganchase.com.

About Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth

The Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth advances equitable and sustainable economic growth and financial inclusion around the world. The Center leverages the company’s core assets and competencies, including data insights, expertise, and technology, while administering the philanthropic Mastercard Impact Fund, to produce independent research, scale global programs, and empower a community of thinkers, leaders, and doers on the front lines of inclusive growth. For more information and to receive its latest insights, follow the Center on LinkedIn, Instagram and subscribe to its newsletter.    

Media contact

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