The U.S. Department of Agriculture has partnered with McLarty Capital Partners of Little Rock to launch a private investment fund the two groups said could inject $100 million in rural small businesses.
The McLarty Capital Partners Rural Business Investment Company will be the fifth RBIC that USDA has helped start since 2014, part of the USDA's goal to attract private capital to investment opportunities in rural America.
"Innovative small businesses throughout rural America need the same access to capital as their urban business counterparts," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. "McLarty Capital Partners is an important ally in USDA's efforts to reenergize the rural economy, help small businesses grow and strengthen local communities."
The USDA said the MCP Rural Investment Fund will ensure that businesses in smaller communities have access to the money they need to accomplish their goals.
"We are pleased to partner with USDA in this innovative public-private partnership to propel and sustain small business growth in rural America," Franklin McLarty, McLarty Capital Partners co-founder, said. "With roots in America's heartland, McLarty Capital Partners is committed to ensuring that small and medium sized enterprises have the means necessary to achieve their business goals, and this endeavor only furthers that mission."
McLarty Capital Partners was founded in 2012 by co-presidents McLarty and Christopher Smith. It provides financing to small- and medium-sized enterprises in the U.S.
The USDA formed the new fund under its Rural Business Investment Program.