Amazon Announces Launch of Accelerator Program to Promote Real Estate Developers of Color
Dec 8, 2021 By MarketDepth
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) reported launch of a USD 21 Million Accelerator Program to help promote real estate developers of color. This is a two year part-time development program that is free for participants and focuses on teaching real estate developers of color how to advance their careers. This aims to lower the barriers these developers face when bidding for affordable housing developments. This program will increase the number of professional real estate developers of color that are focused on affordable housing and inclusive community building. This is part of the USD 2 Billion Amazon Housing Equity Fund to create and preserve 20,000 affordable homes for individuals and families that are earning moderate to low incomes in Washington State’s Puget Sound region; the Arlington, Virginia region; and Nashville, Tennessee. “With this accelerator program, we are laser focused on lifting up emerging real estate developers of color. We want to foster their professional growth through education and training, as well as improve their access to capital, which can be elusive to developers of color,” said Catherine Buell, director of the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. “If we are going to bring about lasting, holistic, and meaningful change to how affordable housing is developed, developers of color need to be a part of the solution.”
“Developers of color bring enormous opportunity for creative and inclusive solutions to community-focused real estate development, but systemic issues continue to create multiple barriers to their success. Through this program, we are partnering with Amazon in helping open doors for people of color who can then pay their experience forward.”
Ellis Carr, president and CEO of Capital Impact Partners and CDC Small Business Finance
“With Amazon’s support, our hope is to bridge the knowledge gap and build a bench of developers of color who are trusted in their communities,” said Brian Surratt, executive director of LISC Puget Sound. “These developers are then likely to hire contractors and other workers of color, some of whom may live in those same neighborhoods.”
