FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 29, 2021 

CONTACT:
Andy Barnes, abarnes@cebn.org 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Small Business Administration (SBA) has selected the Clean Energy Business Network as a winner for the 2021 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC). The GAFC winners were selected based on their proposals for targeting innovation-focused entrepreneurs from underrepresented and under-resourced communities, including women, people of color, rural communities, and veterans. As a GAFC winner, CEBN joins 84 other organizations across the nation who provide support to innovation- and STEM-focused entrepreneurs in fields such as clean energy, supply chain resilience, and infrastructure. 

CEBN will receive a $50,000 prize to complete its plans for targeted assistance to entrepreneurs from underrepresented communities working in clean energy innovation. Its proposal includes collaborating with partner organizations and leveraging existing digital tools to connect with diverse stakeholders and community leaders in order to share funding and resource opportunities. CEBN also aims to democratize access to funding opportunities through its U.S. Cleantech Funding Database and continued development of its prototype U.S. Cleantech Investor Database. CEBN President Lynn Abramson provided the following comments: 

“We are thrilled to have been selected as a winner of the 2021 Growth Accelerator Fund Competition. Clean energy represents some of the largest growth sectors in the U.S. economy, yet entire subsets of our population are being left out of that economic growth. With this award, CEBN looks forward to helping support a diverse set of entrepreneurs with fresh ideas and helping set the stage for small business ownership and job creation in communities around the nation.”

Through this grant, CEBN will expand upon its collaboration with Banks & Company, a Black-owned public affairs firm based in Southfield, Michigan. Lloyd Banks, CEO and Principal of Banks & Company, offered the following comments:

“Once again Banks & Company is excited to partner with CEBN to work with diverse communities across the country to inform them of these fantastic opportunities in clean energy innovation. Too often information like this is communicated to the masses without doing a deep dive to be intentional about targeting communities of color.”

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The Clean Energy Business Network (CEBN) is the small business voice for the clean energy economy, working to enhance opportunities for clean energy providers through policy support, market and technology education, and business development assistance. For more information, please visit: www.cebn.org.