Hyphen: Advancing access to capital access through a national public-private partnership
Hyphen catalyzes multi-sector partnerships, leverages philanthropic leadership and resources, and deploys strategic communications to address urgent needs facing entrepreneurs across the United States.
How Hyphen is strengthening the small business ecosystem in the United States
- For many small business owners across the U.S., the biggest challenge isn't lack of ambition or ideas — it's figuring out where to go for the right kind of support. The Initiative for Inclusive Entrepreneurship (IIE) was founded to help reshape the ecosystem to make sure capital and resources are not just available, but truly accessible.
- Launched in 2022 by Hyphen, IIE was designed to bring together leaders across the public and private sectors to co-invest in solutions that serve small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals. During its incubation, Hyphen led the initiative’s strategy, partnerships, and pilot programming — helping lay the foundation for a stronger and more coordinated national small business economy.
- IIE focuses on building shared infrastructure, aligning investment strategies, and facilitating national knowledge exchange to improve how capital flows to the entrepreneurs who need it most. Its implementation partners include the Aspen Institute’s Business Ownership Initiative, Founders First Capital Partners, JumpStart, Mission Driven Finance, Next Street, Nowak Metro Finance Lab, and Scale Link.
Program overview
Our work together
With support from Mastercard Strive USA, Hyphen led IIE through an 18-month incubation period from January 2023 through June 2024. During this time, Hyphen coordinated a national pilot designed to expand capital access and harmonize small business support systems across the United States.
Key components of the pilot included:
- Capacity building grants issued in collaboration with six national organizations to expand capital access and provide support for a range of small business types
- Capital investments that paired philanthropic funds with public and private dollars, leveraging resources from the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI)
- A national community of practice established by Hyphen and facilitated by Next Street to connect stakeholders, promote learning, and align capital deployment strategies across geographies
Through this work, Hyphen brought together a diverse network of funders, practitioners, and policy leaders to demonstrate what coordinated, inclusive capital access can look like at scale. Following the successful completion of the pilot, the Milken Institute became the host of IIE.
By the numbers
By the conclusion of the pilot phase, the initiative had:
- Reached 5,400 small businesses and provided over 2,200 hours of technical assistance to 890 entrepreneurs
- Developed over 400 new tools and resources.
- Deployed $215 million in capital, including direct loans, capital matches, private capital, and grants to small businesses.
Our goal
Expand inclusive capital access
By coordinating funding, technical support, and partnerships to strengthen small business ecosystems nationwide.
By the numbers
Become a partner
Interested in being a partner for change?
Together we can empower millions of small businesses globally with innovative digital solutions that boost resilience, growth, and inclusion. Your organization's expertise can help bring impactful programs to scale, deepen local reach, and create meaningful change in the small business ecosystem. Be part of a vibrant partner community driving real economic impact.
Archana Sahgal
Hyphen PartnershipsIIE was born out of a vision to break down barriers to accessing capital and create a more inclusive economy. The initiative benefited greatly from our partnership with the Mastercard Strive USA network. Mastercard’s networks, expertise, and convening power set IIE up for long-term success.
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