Magic Johnson Offering Assists To Minority-Owned Businesses

Magic Johnson, CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises and one of the NBA’s all-time leaders in assists, is now providing assists to minority- and women-owned small businesses. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, his company is collaborating with MBE Capital Partners to offer $100 million in loans to the small businesses he believes make up the fabric of city life.

“We have to remember that these businesses have been in urban communities for a long time,” Johnson told CNBC. “They probably didn’t have a relationship with the banks when the stimulus package went out. So now, we’re able to say, ‘Hey, you can have a relationship with us.’”

The loans will be processed through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program application on the MBE Capital Partners website in English and Spanish.

Not unrelated: As the economic impacts of COVID-19 continue to unfold, the Downtown Alliance is committed to helping Lower Manhattan’s small businesses. To that end, we have compiled a list of grant, loan and assistance programs that have been created to help our neighbors.