Entrepreneurs are getting more opportunities in Minneapolis through a city program that awards forgivable loans to business owners to get their ideas off the ground.

The city of Minneapolis announced an additional $3 million will be added to the Ownership and Opportunity fund, otherwise known as the Commercial Property and Development fund, in the 2024 city budget.

Jesse Ross, commercial property owner, was one of the award recipients in 2023 and he’s already putting the funds to good use.

“The goal of the building is to make commercial rent affordable,” Ross said.

Ross spends most of his time advocating for racial equity.

He’s hoping to help entrepreneurs of color get their ideas off the ground in north Minneapolis without the burden of high rent.

“I’m trying to find a way to leverage the playing field and use my building as a way to get to at least 51 percent women and people of color,” Ross said.

His mission is two-fold. He’s also encouraging people to go bigger and strive to own the building they work in.

“Specifically women and people of color over time, there hasn’t been consideration for us and so, I felt like if I’m going to own a building, then that’s pretty much at the heart of what I do,” Ross said.

He had help from the city of Minneapolis.

Ross was one of the business owners who received $700,000 from the program to help buy the building.

The city provides forgivable loans for real estate projects in areas that need help.

“My goal isn’t to be like a real estate mogul or anything like that, but when I think about access and opportunity, somebody has to go for it,” Ross said. “My goal is not to necessarily reinvent the wheel, but how do I create access and opportunity for somebody else?”

Ross said he’s already working on owning another building.

Since Mayor Jacob Frey launched the program in 2020, 22 business owners in Minneapolis have been awarded funding.