durham inc.
INNOVATIVE WAYS TO CREATE SUCCESS AMID CHALLENGES While the nation concerns itself with talks of recession, North Carolina and Durham hold strong as places of growth, continuously racking up accolades as one of the best places to live and do business in the country BY J A M E S D U P R E E | P H O T O G R A P H Y BY J O H N M I C H A E L S I M P S O N espite talks of staff shortages, recession and increasing interest rates affecting the United States, Durham’s continued development growth, low business costs and close proximity to a resilient hightech industry has made it one of the top-ranking cities to start a business. Owners and CEOs of companies across the city are finding creative ways to battle economic hardships, from diversification of products and services to taking advantage of new and innovative opportunities.
ABOVE The new cashless kiosk in Terminal 2 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport allows travelers to order food and beverages, one of several creative endeavors by some of Durham’s businesses. BELOW Austin Phillips picks up his Beyu Caffe coffee from a locker near the kiosks before his flight to Texas.
FINDING FUNDING Mechanics and Farmers Bank, the only African Americanowned bank in North Carolina and the second oldest African American-owned bank in the U.S., has supported Durham community members and small to midsized businesses for 115 years. “M&F Bank has been fortunate over the past eight years that the economy in the Triangle has been strong with growth and expansion,” said M&F CEO James Sills. “We have achieved all-time highs in total assets [and] earnings per share,
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and our share price is at a 17year high.” M&F reported its first net loss since the bank’s inception in 2017, but support from the community and new investors like Raleigh-based tech companies Global Data Consortium and Pendo brought renewed strength. M&F Bank received an $80 million investment from the U.S. Treasury Emergency Capital Investment Program earlier this year, bringing its capital to more than $119 million. “[This] funding will allow us to underwrite larger loans, expand our market share and provide a greater ability to bridge the wealth gap for the communities served,” Sills said. “We plan to lend approximately $30 million a year for the next 10 years to minority borrowers who have been deeply impacted by the pandemic to help drive the recovery. Small businesses owned by minority borrowers that have annual revenues of less than $1 million will be our primary targets. Further, we plan to participate in various affordable housing programs and provide financing related to community serving facilities.”
REAL ESTATE MOVES As development projects across the country are challenged by rising prices of goods and services – data from the National
october/november 2022