The Portland Seed Fund won conditional backing from the Oregon Growth Account today, despite the organization paring back its investments due to declining lottery revenue.
The Portland Seed Fund won conditional backing from the Oregon Growth Account today, despite the organization paring back its investments due to declining lottery revenue.
The OGA agreed to invest $500,000 if the seed fund raises $1.5 million from other sources.
State Treasurer Ted Wheeler has voiced support for using Oregon investment funds to support local businesses and create jobs locally.
With Portland’s $500,000 in hand, that means the seed fund needs at least $1 million more. The fund’s manager, a new firm called Bridge City Ventures, said today it’s “confident” of closing that gap by early next year.
“There were a number of institutional investors who were very interested in how OGA came down,” said Bridge City partner Angela Jackson. The OGA’s stamp of approval will help the seed fund’s case, she said.
As an incentive to increase the seed fund’s scale, the OGA offered the fund another $250,000 if it can secure at least $2.75 million in investment. The seed fund is optimistic it will hit that target, too, Jackson said, and should be ready to start allocating funds by early spring.
Read more at OregonLive.com.
{biztweet}portland seed fund{/biztweet}
