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IMPACT Speaker Series Presents Grace Fricks

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What is the “Spirit of Small Business?” What is it that sets an entrepreneur apart? Grace Fricks, Founder and CEO of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs, Inc. (ACE), will share some small business and microenterprise success stories and what she thinks it takes to not only survive, but thrive as a successful entrepreneur. 

Grace Fricks is the founder and CEO of Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), a nonprofit
community lender specializing in small-business loans coupled with business advisory services.

Since starting the business in the home 13 years ago, Fricks and ACE have made $21 million in loans, created or saved over 3,500 jobs, and since 2011 has grown its portfolio 266 percent.  Nearly all clients (97 percent) repay their loans. The firm specializes primarily in loans up to $50,000, although some go higher. It focuses on small businesses in underserved, low-income communities, with an emphasis on women- and minority-owned businesses.

ACE operates several loan programs, including the environmentally-oriented Georgia Green Loans, the Save and Sustain program, and the Healthy Food Financing Initiative. In 2013, it launched the Women Investing in Successful Entrepreneurs loan program, or WISE, to help women in Georgia network and attain the mentoring expertise along with providing the financial and social capital they need to strengthen their businesses. ACE offers workshops, and other resources available through WISE.

This event is co-sponsored by Enterprise to Empower

She will speak at Georgia Tech's IMPACT Speaker Series on Wednesday, March 12. All are welcome to attend.


About the Impact Speaker Series:

Since 2002, the IMPACT Speaker Series has brought highly successful business leaders from a variety of industries to campus to share their experiences and give advice to students and other entrepreneurs on topics ranging from "building a venture around intellectual capital" to "successful entrepreneurship in large organizations" and "socially responsible leadership". The weekly series provides Georgia Tech students, alumni and the Atlanta business community an opportunity to network and learn from successful entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and notable business and non-profit leaders.

The series is free and open to the public, and reservations are not required.

Status

  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Dori Pap
  • Created:01/31/2014
  • Modified By:Fletcher Moore
  • Modified:04/13/2017