Brightwood Capital Advisors, a private credit and impact firm, received its third small business investment company license (SBIC) from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
Since joining the SBIC program, Brightwood has supported more than 50 borrowers with close to $1 billion of invested capital from its SBICs. Through its second SBIC fund, Brightwood Capital SBIC II, LP, Brightwood also maintains a Specialized SBIC license (SSBIC) which focuses on providing debt capital to overlooked and underrepresented communities. All capital deployed from Brightwood SBIC II was invested in companies owned and controlled by women, under-represented minorities or military veterans. Brightwood SBIC II currently serves as one of the largest actively investing SSBICs. Brightwood is well-positioned to access these underserved markets as one of the largest diverse-owned direct lending managers asset in the U.S.
“As proud members of both the SBIC and SSBIC programs, we’re thrilled to have received approval for our third SBIC license,” Sengal Selassie, managing partner and CEO of Brightwood, said. “Our continued partnership with the SBA and the additional capital provided with this license will further strengthen our ability to support underserved communities and deliver value to our investors.”
This announcement comes off the heels of one of Brightwood’s most active investment periods, having deployed more than $2 billion of capital to more than 50 new and existing borrowers during this past year. Brightwood also experienced strong realization activity with successful exits from more than 20 investments.
