Wells Fargo Lend $1 Billion to African American Small Business Owners

Wells Fargo & Company announced it has reached its goal, set in 1998, to lend $1 billion to African American business owners nationwide by 2010.

Wells Fargo said it is celebrating the achievement this year with a number of events, including screenings of the film, "Two Dollars and a Dream," about Madame C.J. Walker, America's first self-made male million. The film illustrates the history of successful entrepreneurship in the African American community.

We should applaud Wells Fargo for making the effort to provide more capital to black business' but black business' still face a very difficult time in getting access to capital.

According to the most recent (2002) U.S. Census data, there are more than one million African American-owned businesses in the U.S., a 45 percent increase over the 1997 census figure.

Wells Fargo's African American Business Services program provides outreach and education to African American business owners through resources including workshops, seminars, tradeshows, and regional and national alliances.

Wells Fargo said it plans to announce a new multi-year lending goal later this year.