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Detroit Development Fund Marks 25 Years of Fueling Black Business Growth Across Detroit

For 25 years, the Detroit Development Fund has quietly done the kind of work that rarely makes headlines but often changes lives.

Before national retailers carried The Lip Bar products on their shelves, before founder Melissa Butler became one of Detroit’s most celebrated entrepreneurs, she was driving a lipstick truck around the country trying to prove her concept could work. Before Carla Walker-Miller built one of Michigan’s largest Black woman-owned businesses, she was searching for financing to grow an energy services company few traditional lenders were willing to back. Detroit Development Fund said yes.

Before national retailers carried The Lip Bar products on their shelves, before founder Melissa Butler became one of Detroit’s most celebrated entrepreneurs, she was driving a lipstick truck around the country trying to prove her concept could work. Before Carla Walker-Miller built one of Michigan’s largest Black woman-owned businesses, she was searching for financing to grow an energy services company few traditional lenders were willing to back.

Detroit Development Fund said yes.

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