Etsy and Grameen America Announce Strategic Partnership to Increase Access to Business Capital and Financial Education for Women Entrepreneurs in Financially Underserved Communities

$3 Million in New Loan Capital Provided by Etsy Provides Access to Affordable Microloans for Low-Income Women Across the Country to Start or Grow Their Small Businesses

An Additional $1.5 Million in Grant Funding Accelerates Grameen America’s Efforts to Bring Financial Education, Training, and Resources Directly to Women of Color

NEW YORK, NY, June 22, 2023 – National microfinance nonprofit organization Grameen America and Etsy announced a comprehensive strategic partnership to assist low-income women entrepreneurs with access to affordable business capital and financial education. Through a mixture of lending and philanthropy support, this new partnership advances the organizations’ joint work to uplift underserved communities and create opportunities for creative entrepreneurs to run sustainable businesses.

Etsy has provided $3 million over four years through debt capital to support Grameen America’s national microloan portfolio, which provides women entrepreneurs with access to small and affordable business loans starting at a range from $500 to $2,500. Through Grameen America’s social capital model, Etsy’s catalytic investment will perpetuate impact and allow the organization to disburse $32 million in loan capital through 5,800 microloans over the next four years.

Etsy’s Uplift Fund is also providing a two-year $1.5 million grant to support Grameen America’s capacity to continue its existing member development program, including education curriculum, virtual workshops, direct-to-member newsletters and SMS outreach, short financial education videos, and a brand-new customized and self-guided learning platform that aims to launch in 2023. During this grant, Etsy and Grameen America aim to expand access to ecommerce knowledge and tools for thousands of women entrepreneurs of color.

In 2022, Grameen America members joined more than 30 free online workshops on business and finance, led by experts in the field. The organization surveyed over 1,000 members to understand their financial education needs and found the most requested topics include credit building, budgeting, saving, personal branding, and marketing.

Grameen America provides low-income women of color access to loan capital, financial education, asset- and credit-building, and peer support. Since 2008, Grameen America has invested over $3.2 billion in loan capital to more than 172,000 women entrepreneurs across 25 U.S. cities. The organization’s repayment rate is over 99% and its members have achieved an average credit score of 653 through participation in the program.

“We are thrilled to partner with Etsy to deepen our impact in financially underserved communities and provide emerging entrepreneurs with access to affordable capital to start or grow their businesses,” said Andrea Jung, President and CEO of Grameen America. “Etsy’s generous support will also significantly expand Grameen America’s capacity to deliver high-level financial education and business training based on our members’ needs.”

“We’ve learned from our previous work that when people have access to the resources they need to thrive, they are able to not only uplift themselves, but their families, the communities they live in and their local economies with them,” said Chelsea Mozen, senior director of impact and sustainability at Etsy. “We’re excited to partner with Grameen America to open doors to entrepreneurship for women from low income communities through access to capital and resources that can help them open and run a sustainable business, and help their communities thrive.”

The new lending relationship with Grameen America is part of the first set of fund allocations from Etsy’s new Impact Investment Fund, which uses $30 million of Etsy’s cash holdings to accelerate goals to foster economic empowerment, support financially underserved communities, and promote environmental sustainability. Etsy partnered with ImpactAssets Capital Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary of ImpactAssets, to create a portfolio where Etsy’s capital investments will drive meaningful positive impact.

Etsy launched the Uplift Fund at Brooklyn Community Foundation in 2021 to support nonprofits nationwide that work to dismantle barriers to entrepreneurship and create equal opportunities for economically disenfranchised communities. In 2022 alone, U.S. buyers elected to donate the change on their orders more than 6.4 million times, enabling Etsy to distribute approximately $2.5 million in grants.

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About Grameen America

Founded by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus, Grameen America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit microfinance organization dedicated to helping low-income women build small businesses to create better lives for their families. The organization offers access to loan capital, financial education, asset- and credit-building, and peer support to transform communities and advance financial mobility in the United States. Since January 2008, Grameen America has invested over $3.2 billion in more than 172,000 women entrepreneurs. Opening originally in Jackson Heights, Queens, Grameen America has expanded to 25 cities in Atlanta, GA, Austin, TX, Boston, MA, Camden, NJ, Charlotte, NC, Chicago, IL, Connecticut, Dallas, TX, Fresno, CA, Houston, TX, Indianapolis, IN, Los Angeles, CA, Memphis, TN, Miami, FL, Newark, NJ, New York, NY, Omaha, NE, Oakland, CA, San Antonio, TX, San Jose, CA, Trenton, NJ and Union City, NJ.

About Etsy

Etsy, Inc. operates two-sided online marketplaces that connect millions of passionate and creative buyers and sellers around the world. These marketplaces share a mission to "Keep Commerce Human," and we're committed to using the power of business and technology to strengthen communities and empower people. Our primary marketplace, Etsy.com, is the global destination for unique and creative goods. Buyers come to Etsy to be inspired and delighted by items that are crafted and curated by creative entrepreneurs. For sellers, we offer a range of tools and services that address key business needs. Etsy, Inc.'s "House of Brands" portfolio also includes fashion resale marketplace Depop, musical instrument marketplace Reverb, and Brazil based handmade goods marketplace Elo7. Each Etsy, Inc. marketplace operates independently, while benefiting from shared expertise in product, marketing, technology, and customer support. Etsy was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Brooklyn, New York.