NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On Tuesday, November 14^th Star Mountain Capital, the Milken Institute and City of Baltimore convened small businesses, small business investment company (SBIC) fund managers and other investors in small and medium-sized private businesses to discuss opportunities and challenges in bringing different forms of capital to the City of Baltimore and to the underserved market of smaller businesses in general.

Attendees heard from small business executives who are actively involved in the Baltimore community as well as managers of select SBIC funds on ways to bridge the capital access divide to support Baltimore’s small business community. Local members of the small business community engaged in insightful discussions on developing best practices across various technical assistance categories such as further professionalizing their businesses by developing a Board of Directors and growing their businesses through acquisitions.

”Investment firms such as Star Mountain have become increasingly aware of the many high-quality established smaller businesses in communities that have historically been underrepresented in institutional investors’ portfolios,” said Brett Hickey, Star Mountain’s Founder & CEO. “Star Mountain recognizes the potential to address some of our country’s most pressing social and environmental challenges while maintaining top-line returns through investing in high quality, growing small businesses in underserved communities.”

Star Mountain specializes in bringing proven, large market resources and expertise to these small businesses, which has been both highly productive for job creation and economic development, as well as creating compelling absolute and risk-adjusted returns, which has helped Star Mountain attract some of the world’s most sophisticated global high net worth and institutional investors. Star Mountain is dedicated to this large market of underserved businesses with its specialized business model built to address the challenges and opportunities of these businesses. As part of its commitment, Star Mountain has trademarked “Investing in the Growth Engine of America.” Star Mountain believes that helping these high quality driven employees and business owners is one of the most valuable things we can do for society.

“Although the SBIC community has been a powerful vehicle for driving capital toward small businesses, it has not been as active in the minority-owned small business space,” said Aron Betru, managing director of the Milken Institute Center for Financial Markets. “Through purposeful discussions like the one held in Baltimore, we can begin to remove barriers and unlock vital resources that both benefit minority-owned small businesses and enable investors to access potentially exciting investment opportunities. We thank the Mayor, the Mayor’s Office of Small, Minority and Women Business in Baltimore and co-hosts Star Mountain Capital for a productive session.”