SBA Approves Lafayette Square’s First SBIC License

Lafayette Square USA, Inc., a business development company sponsored by Lafayette Square, received approval from SBA to operate a dropdown SBIC.

Miami, February 1, 2023 -- Lafayette Square, a national investment platform, announced today that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved the firm’s application for its first Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) license. The license will complement the firm’s existing leverage facilities including financing from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

This will be the third license Damien Dwin, Founder and CEO of Lafayette Square, has been granted by the SBA. Lafayette Square will manage the SBIC as a drop-down subsidiary of its business development company.

Created in 1958, the SBIC program represents a vital partnership between government and the private sector. A typical license can provide access to up to $175 million in government leverage, with maximum leverage for a family of affiliated SBICs of up to $350 million. The approval demonstrates the SBA’s commitment to finding innovative ways of bringing capital to low-to-moderate-income areas and small businesses. In the 2022 fiscal year, the SBA granted a total of 29 SBIC licenses – four for first-time SBICs and 25 for subsequent fund SBICs. Only one of 29 was granted to a business development company.

A key part of Lafayette Square’s credit strategy includes providing borrowers access to Worker Solutions, a custom-built platform that seeks to measurably improve the retention, well-being, and productivity of workers. The platform tracks and measures the impact that Lafayette Square’s SBIC has on improving the lives of low-and-moderate income workers.

“In Washington, DC, Lafayette Square Park sits adjacent to the White House and Department of Treasury. Our name, “Lafayette Square,” reflects our intention to align ourselves with federal, state, and local governments and the taxpayers they represent,” said Dwin. “Our approach to risk management and generating returns purposefully seeks inspiration from existing regulations dating back to the 1950s aimed at increasing prosperity for all Americans in all places around the country. We believe a public-private partnership focused on improving prosperity across the United States through a regional lens provides a scalable means of transparently effecting positive outcomes for all.”

About Lafayette Square 

Lafayette Square aims to create investment opportunities in overlooked places and underserved markets. We invest across asset classes and seek to provide robust risk-adjusted returns to investors while positively supporting people and communities. For more information about Lafayette Square, please visit www.lafayettesquare.com.

Media Contact:

Taylor Phillips

Content Strategist

650-759-3406

press@lafayettesquare.com