It’s not easy transitioning from worker to founder. Fortunately, a Black founded investment fund is aiming to make the leap a smooth one.
Apis & Heritage Capital Partners (A&H) recently announced the final close of its first investment fund at $58.1 million.
The investment fund was created to finance the conversion of companies with substantial Black and Brown workforces into 100% employee-owned businesses using a 100% employee stock ownership plan (ESOP) structure.
“The whole A&H team is humbled by the outpouring of interest and support from the investment community for our novel approach,” said Todd Leverette, A&H Founding Partner in a news release. “We are trying to create a better path for employees, especially workers of color, to gain from their own hard work and innovation, while also building great small companies into great bigger companies. We are deeply grateful to our institutional investors and individuals for believing in our team and our model, and are only sorry that we could not accommodate every investor who wanted to be a part of Legacy Fund I.”
Nearly half of all Americans surveyed by the Federal Reserve shared they don’t an extra $400 to spare on emergencies, while about 2/3 of Black and Latino workers retire with zero savings after a lifetime of work. Conversely, A&H says points out the average employee in an employee-owned business nearing retirement has $147,000 in his or her ESOP account, which they have not bought but rather earned from their hard work.
“Our value-proposition has been well received by business owners,” added Phil Reeves, A&H Founding Partner. “With two transactions under our belt, we have two founders/sellers who are proud of the legacy they are creating for their community and their workers by transitioning their companies into 100% employee-owned businesses through the auspices, capital and guidance of A&H. Since we focus on enterprises that have a large number of low income workers and workers of color, we know we are going to make capitalism start working for people who have been denied these opportunities for so long. You might say A&H aims to put the “equity” back in private equity.”