Best Buy and Citi are collaborating to offer the Bridge built by Citi platform to the retailer’s small-and medium-sized suppliers.

The ‘Bridge’ features a single loan form request. It can be used by Best Buy suppliers looking for loans between $100,000 and $10m. Funding can be accessed from over 75 community and regional banks and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs).

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The 75+ lenders participating on the Bridge platform include more than 20 Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) and four women-owned banks.

“We are committed to taking meaningful action to continue building a stronger, more vibrant community of diverse suppliers in the tech industry,” said Matt Bilunas, chief financial officer at Best Buy. “Our collaboration with Citi builds on our goal to support and empower underrepresented business owners across the country by helping increase access to funding and fueling opportunities for growth.”

In 2021, Best Buy pledged to spend at least $1.2bn with BIPOC and diverse businesses by 2025. This incorporates how it brings goods and services to stores to its supply chain to where and how it advertises.

Participating lenders on the Bridge platform will also increase their potential to expand and diversify their lending.

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“Being a lender on the Bridge platform has helped bring our financial solutions to more businesses,” said Todd McDonald, President of Liberty Bank, an MDI based in New Orleans. “We’re excited to expand that reach to Best Buy suppliers.”

Helping to promote racial equity, supplier diversity

Best Buy and Citi are striving to use this digital-first platform to help mitigate unconscious bias in lending and promote equal access to funding options. This access is a core part of both Best Buy and Citi’s goals to promote racial equity and supplier diversity.

“Bridge was developed to provide more inclusive access to capital while supporting innovative, digital-first solutions for business owners,” said Rohit Mathur, Head of the Bridge built by Citi platform. “By enhancing banks’ potential to connect with Best Buy suppliers, particularly those in underrepresented communities, we hope to help increase opportunities in those communities.”

In addition to the introduction of the Bridge platform to Best Buy suppliers, Best Buy and Citi will collaborate to provide suppliers with educational content to increase financial literacy.

“Citi is creating an ecosystem to support the SMB market. This includes market leading clients like Best Buy and minority owned banks,” said Harold Butler, Head of Citi’s Diverse Financial Institutions Group. “The Bridge platform is the tool which facilitates this connection between Best Buy suppliers and MDIs and drives a digital first approach to serve the community.”