Insurance company MassMutual is making a $50 million commitment to invest in entrepreneurship that supports both early and mid-stage Black-owned businesses as well as tech and sustainability-focused companies based in Massachusetts.
According to the company’s website, the MM Catalyst Fund (MMCF) is targeting a dual approach to creating impact on Massachusetts’ entrepreneurial environment. This approach includes driving growth and capital for these businesses to expand successfully.
The fund will invest in two evenly-split sleeves that will allocate $25 million toward tech and sustainability and another $25 million toward the development of Black businesses.
According to a press release, the fund will distribute investments of $250,000 to $2.5 million for each company in its business portfolio. Moreover, these investment decisions will place emphasis on increasing racial diversity and consider strong leadership teams to be included in the fund.
The motivation behind this fund is to ultimately focus on boosting Massachusetts’ less economically developed areas through employment and business growth. In doing so, the results will help MassMutual produce positive investment outcomes for the state’s growth.
“Impact investing at MassMutual seeks to create a positive social and environmental impact that is measurable while also making market-rate financial returns,” MassMutual Impact Investment Portfolio Manager Rilwan Meeran said in a statement. “Philanthropy alone cannot solve our society’s problems; institutional capital investment should also play a role.”
MassMutual shares that the MMCF’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is at the core of its investment and operational values. Overall, these practices fuel its pledge to innovation, creativity and positive financial performance.
For more information about the MM Catalyst Fund, click here.
