We meet entrepreneurs where they are
Since 2017, BII has deployed $18 million across New England through flexible debt and equity financing to businesses, cooperatives, and real estate projects.
Directly from Our Portfolio
Caribbean Integration Community Development (CICD)
Caribbean Integration Community Development (CICD) is a non-profit housing and community development organization that creates and maintains affordable housing in areas of Boston with large numbers of people of Caribbean descent. The organization’s first affordable housing development is Cote Village in Mattapan, which will be permanently affordable and meet LEED Silver Sustainability Standards.
WeSpire
WeSpire was a Software-as-a-Service (“SaaS”) platform that utilizes behavioral science as well as social and game mechanics to design, run, and measure customized programs and actions for employee engagement spanning across sustainability, civic-service, wellness, and human resource functions. WeSpire’s platform measures business and environmental impact metrics and analytics in real time, and generates reports, allowing employees and managers to see the impacts of their actions. WeSpire joined Bonterra in 2023, expanding Bonterra’s suite of solutions of employee engagement.
Five Start Plating
Five Start Plating (FSP) provides metal finishing services (anodizing, hard coat, chromate conversion, zinc plating and powder coating) to commercial sheet metal fabricators and machine shops serving a variety of industries including medical, industrial, telecommunications, electronics, defense /aerospace and food services. It is located in Lawrence, and provides competitive job opportunities to the local community.
Somerville Community Corporation
Somerville Community Corporation offers services and leads community organizing that support low- and moderate- income residents to increase economic sustainability and civic participation. SCC partners with local developers, foundations, lenders, the City of Somerville, and community organizations, serving as a nexus for multi-stakeholder relationships.
Casabe Fruit Store and Delicatessen
At the time of the original investment, Casabe was an alternative to the traditional bodegas of Lawrence, offering fresh and durable offerings, with conventional and organic options that would accept payments from Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) cards. In 2023 Casabe opened a second location at Lawrence General Hospital, which has now become their primary location.
florrent
florrent is a deep-tech company innovating to design and build the next generation of high energy density ultracapacitors that will stabilize electrical grids and address critical bottlenecks for the adoption of renewable energies, electric vehicles and net-zero buildings. Its ultracapacitors are manufactured in Western Massachusetts from abundant and regenerative biomass, grown domestically in the U.S. by Black and Indigenous farmers.
Solomon Group
Is a strategic communications and consulting firm working with public and private initiatives that uses data to market clean energy programs to disadvantaged communities. Given their experience in the space, Solomon Group can provide data-driven insights on sub-segments of the population, with particular emphasis on historically disadvantaged communities.
Cero Cooperative Inc
CERO is a worker-owned cooperative that collects commercial compost in the greater Boston area and creates business ownership and earning opportunity for the people of color among the working-class community. CERO's waste separation system increases reclamation and sale of clean paper, plastics, metals, waste vegetable oil and organic food waste, reducing customer trash sent to landfill and incinerators by 50 percent or more. This investment was done in collaboration with Cooperative Fund of New England to provide early stage start up capital
Futuro Media Group
Description: Futuro Media Group creates multimedia content for and about underrepresented communities in an increasingly diverse world. Founder Maria Hinojosa is an award-winning news anchor and reporter who has covered America’s untold stories for over two decades.
Sunwealth
Sunwealth is a clean energy investment firm dedicated to finance high-performing commercial solar projects through the sale of investment products to accredited investors. Their goal is to accelerate capital into communities underserved by traditional solar financing. BII has made several investments in Sunwealth over the years out of the LLC, Fund I and Fund II.
ChopValue Boston
ChopValue Boston is a manufacturer of custom furnishings and architectural features made from recycled chopsticks. ChopValue’s business model exemplifies the concept of the circular economy: chopstick waste is recycled, converted to a useful good at a local microfactory, then purchased by regional customers. CEO Elaine Chow focuses on hiring young adults facing barriers to employment, including returning citizens.
Hillside Harvest
Hillside Harvest is a Caribbean-American natural condiment brand that sells at regional grocery stores, local farmers markets, direct-to-consumer on their website, and even at Fenway Park! Hillside Harvest has developed three hot sauce flavors and two Jamaican jerk marinades. Founder Kamaal Jarrett’s vision was to create a brand that would bring the Caribbean flavors of his heritage out of the specialty international markets and into mainstream supermarket aisles.
Capital Good Fund
Capital Good Fund is a nonprofit and CDFI based in Rhode Island offering low interest loans to individuals for emergencies, immigration, and weatherization; creating pathways out of poverty; and advancing access to the green economy. BII Fund I provided a term loan in 2019 to support their Massachusetts expansion for their immigration and weatherization loans.
Coalition for Occupied Homes in Foreclosure
COHIF (now Boston Neighborhood Community Landtrust) , is a collective of members and partners working together to keep residents of forclosed occupied properites in their homes by providing resources, advocacy and longterm support. In 2018, BII Fund provided a loan to support the Community Stabilization Pilot Project, advancing crucial anti-displacement strategies in Boston.
Colorful Resilience
Colorful Resilience is an outpatient mental health services practice specializing in serving the BIPOC, LGBT+, immigrant, and first-generation communities, as well as their allies. The practice is distinguished by its commitment to cultural competency and its focus on employee well-being and professional development. Colorful Resilience provides a clear pathway for early practitioners, starting as interns and progressing towards training, certification, licensure, and potentially launching their own practice. The company views itself as a training facility and incubator for the mental health industry, which is known for high burnout and turnover rates. BII invested in Colorful Resilience in July 2025 through…
Done Good
DoneGood aspired to be the “Amazon of the new social impact economy” harnessing purchasing as a force for change, helping ethical consumers and companies find each other. DoneGood was a certified B Corp incubated at Harvard Innovation Lab. In 2017, BII Fund made a convertible debt investment to support the platform in its efforts to redirect consumer dollars toward businesses owned by people of color and women.
Eastie Farm
Eastie Farm is a community-based non-profit focused on Climate Justice, Food Access, and building Community Resilience. They address these issues through creating green spaces throughout East Boston. With the help of neighborhood volunteers, they have transformed several vacant lots into community gardens. In 2021, Fund II provided a line of credit to Eastie Farm to finance grants and contracts from city and state agencies, as well as foundations.
Franklin Caraballo
Bookkeeper Franklin Caraballo LLC provides critical professional business consulting, business management, bookkeeping, and tax services to small Spanish-speaking businesses. Language is often a huge barrier for many startups, bodegas, and other businesses which can created a hesitancy in entrepreneurs to launch, grow, or expand their businesses. In 2021, BII made a loan for expanding the team and building out an online training platform.
Fresh Food Generation
Fresh Food Generation started its food truck business with an intention to serve healthy food in the low-income neighborhood of Boston. Today they are a restaurant, food truck and catering company. FFG combines New England ingredients with bold Caribbean and Southern flavors to create enticing locally sourced fresh food. In 2018, BII Fund provided a line of credit and convertible debt coupled with an innovative “self-liquidating equity” structure which allows management to buy back equity at fair and mutually agreed upon price.
Housing Corp of Arlington (HCA)
Housing Corporation of Arlington (HCA) is a well-established non-profit community development corporation dedicated to creating and preserving affordable housing in Arlington, Massachusetts. HCA operates comprehensive housing programs including affordable housing development and management, homelessness prevention services, and energy efficiency upgrades for low-income homeowners. The organization has built strong community relationships and successfully completed LIHTC deals throughout its history. In September 2025, BII provided subordinated debt financing to support HCA's acquisition of 59 affordable housing units at 840-846 Massachusetts Avenue and 1517 Newman Way, preserving critical Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) in a gentrifying area. This tenant-driven acquisition serves residents across…
Maven Construction
Maven Construction is a registered woman-owned, and minority-owned full-service general contracting firm that provides at-risk construction management services to municipal, institutional and private clients. In 2018, BII Fund provided project finance to support an energy efficiency project with Howard University.
MentorWorks
MentorWorks is a platform that helps to originate and facilitate Income Share Agreements (ISAs). They were among the first platforms to provide income-share based education financing coupled with career mentorship. In 2020, BII committed invested in MentorWorks through a special funding vehicle (SPV), enabling the company to fund the higher education of students, primarily of color, who are attending community colleges or enrolled in technical training programs in Boston.
Renew Energy Partners
Renew Energy Partners is a Boston-based energy efficiency project development firm that specializes in decarbonizing commercial buildings in New England. In 2014, BII joined as an anchor investor in Renew’s collaborative project with HEET, a local non-profit that focuses on bringing efficiency upgrades to underserved markets. The joint program brings upfront financing and project management to retrofit Greater Boston’s non-profit buildings and historic houses of worship to reduce energy costs and use across the sector.
Roundhead Brewing Co.
Roundhead Brewing is the first Latino-owned craft brewery in the Boston area. The brewery sells a variety of craft beers and fresh pizza in the taproom and serves as a community space, hosting events with local partners and musicians at the brewery and around Boston. Roundhead Brewing also supports its workers by creating career pathways and paying a living wage, instead of sub-minimum, tipped wages. In 2021, Fund I provided a term loan as part of a larger equipment financing facility in partnership with RSF Social Finance to purchase electric brewing equipment.
TARTTs Day Care
At the time of BII’s original investment, TARTTs Day Care was family-owned business that provided quality childcare services for children ages two months to five years. Founded by African-American nurse Bessie Tartt Wilson in 1946, the company was run by second, third, and forth generation family members whose aim was to provide a high-quality, well-rounded curriculum that enriches its children’s and families’ lives. TARTTs was acquired by a competitor in 2024 who retained all existing employees and is carrying forward TARTTs’ legacy. In 2019, Fund I made a loan for operational expenses of establishing a new center.
Transformative Culture Project
TCP harnesses the economic power of creative arts for youth and community development. TCP works throughout the year with youth to produce events which shocases their content, connect with other artists, receive compr ensation and bring community members together for dialogue and action. BII has provided bridge financing to TCP twice before and in 2019 provided the nonprofit organization with a line of credit so that it can more easily navigate the grant cycles of various funders.
Urban Farming Institute
UFI uses urban farming practices as a means of addressing various societal challengs, including food insecurity, limited access to fruits and vegetables and the decline of community connection. In 2018, BII Fund provided bridge finance to support the acquisition of equipment and supplies for the upcoming farming season.
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Just and Sustainable Economy
Invest in BII Fund II and support the growth of enterprises, building a more equitable future.