How Macy’s Is Spurring Growth through S.P.U.R Pathways
The Engage For Good Podcast with Alli Murphy
English - February 28, 2023 11:00 - 23 minutes - 21.9 MB - ★★★★★ - 20 ratingsGovernment Business cause marketing engage for good marketing corporate social impact brand purpose csr social impact Homepage Download Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Access to financing is one of the biggest challenges for small businesses. That challenge is even greater if you’re not white and not male. For example, startups with at least one Black founder only have access to 1.3% of venture capital dollars invested in the United States.
In today’s episode, EFG’s Alli Murphy sits down with Matt Bergantino, Vice President of Procurement at Macy's, to discuss the company's new S.P.U.R. Pathways program - Shared Purpose, Unlimited Reach - a catalyst for underrepresented business growth.
S.P.U.R. Pathways is part of the retailer’s new social purpose platform, Mission Every One, through which Macy’s will spend $5 billion through 2025 on initiatives to promote diversity and sustainability.
Through the S.P.U.R. Pathways program and the brand’s partnership with Momentus Capital, Macy’s plans to invest $30 million over the next five years into three financing channels meant to support businesses run by people from underrepresented groups in the retail industry. The loan fund, which will provide loans for working capital, commercial real estate, and growth equity capital, has total financing of $200 million.
During the conversation, Matt explains how the program fits into the company's overall mission and vision, highlighting the business case for the initiative and the leading indicators being tracked to measure its success.
He also discusses how the program is more than just financial benefits and how the blend of components - monetary, social and educational - is crucial for success.
In today’s episode, we’ll explore:
An overview of S.P.U.R. Pathways and how it champions diverse entrepreneurs Insight into the leading indicators that Macy's is tracking with S.P.U.R. PathwaysHow the program aligns with Macy's business goalsMatt’s advice for building programs that dismantle systemic barriersChallenges Macy’s faced in building the program and what they did about itHow the retailer is de-risking business needs and meeting shifting consumer desiresThe power of listening tours and finding root causesTune in to learn more about how Macy's is working to close wealth gaps and shatter systemic barriers faced by diverse-owned and underrepresented businesses.
This episode is brought to you by Macy’s.
Links & Notes
Macy’s LinkedInMatt Bergantino LinkedInS.P.U.R. Pathways: Shared Purpose, Unlimited ReachElevate Your Social Impact
Check out our annual conference!Sign up for Engage for Good's newsletterCheck out past podcast episodesAccess free resourcesCheck out our monthly webinarsLet Alli know what you think of the show!(00:00) - Welcome to Engage for Good
(02:30) - Introducing Matt Bergantino
(07:42) - Spur Pathways and Mission Everyone
(09:30) - The Business Case
(14:30) - Leading Indicators
(22:27) - Learn More