USDA launches rural business investment company

USDA launched a new private investment fund with the potential to inject $100 million into growth-oriented, small businesses across rural America. The McLarty Capital Partners (MCP) Rural Business Investment Company (RBIC) will be the fifth RBIC that USDA has helped to initiate since 2014.  "Innovative small businesses throughout rural America need the same access to capital as their urban business counterparts," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "McLarty Capital Partners is an important ally in USDA's efforts to reenergize the rural economy, help small businesses grow and strengthen local communities." McLarty Capital Partners, founded in 2012 by co-presidents Franklin McLarty and Christopher Smith, provides flexible financing solutions to small and medium sized enterprises in the United States. MCP Rural Investment Fund will invest in this sector of the U.S. economy with the goal of ensuring that businesses located in smaller communities throughout the nation have access to the capital needed to realize their goals.