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New Markets Growth Fund Closes First Fund with $20M
By Giselle Greenwood
4/30/2003
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The New Markets Growth Fund (NMGF) is expected to announce the closing of its first fund with $20 million to invest in early- and expansion-stage companies located in primarily economic distressed sections of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.

The fund's investors include: CapCity Ventures, M&T Bank, Capital One, Chevy Chase Bank, MBNA, Farmers & Mechanics Banks, Sandy Spring Bank, Empower Baltimore, the Calvert Group, National Cooperative Bank, Baltimore Development, the state of Maryland, the University of Maryland's Smith School of Business, and several regional individual investors and fund management companies.

The fund was initiated through the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business. The NMGF came about as a result of the Small Business Administration's New Markets Venture Capital program, which provides venture groups with matching funds through federally backed loans and grants.

Managing the fund will be Mark Grovic, formerly with Calvert Group; Don Spero, former CEO of Fusion Systems; and Robb Doub, also formerly with Calvert.

The fund, which took about a year to raise, plans to invest in approximately 20 companies with investments per company ranging from $200,000 to $2 million. The NMGF will target small businesses seeking growth capital as well as early-stage companies with developed products. Mr. Grovic said about 80% of the fund will be invested in companies located in low-income areas.

Additionally, NMGF plans to move companies into distressed neighborhoods, hoping to promote business and growth.

http://www.newmarketsvp.com