Entrepreneur Fund

The Entrepreneur Fund provides integrated lending and advising services for business success. As a Community Development Financial Institution, it delivers accessible capital via small business loans and no-cost expert advising. This mission-driven approach targets underserved entrepreneurs and communities, strengthening local economies by facilitating venture establishment and expansion.

Established in the late 1980s, the organization arose from the need to diversify the economy within Minnesota’s Iron Range region. Its founding insight was to empower entrepreneurs to create and grow small businesses, generating stable incomes and renewing the area's entrepreneurial culture. This commitment to serving rural communities remains a central principle.

The Entrepreneur Fund serves small business owners across 29 counties and 12 Native nations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Its mission is to advance community economic development by partnering with entrepreneurs to stimulate business growth. The vision cultivates vibrant communities and a diverse regional economy sustained by a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem.