Rural Community Development Venture Capital Conference
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
Washington, DC

Friday, October 5, 2007

Conference Summary

Jointly sponsored by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Appalachian Redevelopment Corporation (ARC), the Community Development Venture Capital Alliance (CDVCA), and the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, this conference brought leaders in the community development finance field together to discuss the increasing significance of rural community development venture capital (CDVC). 

Rural CDVC matches investment dollars with underserved rural communities.  The benefits of this type of investment are well documented: job growth, increased entrepreneurship, and economic stability.  Despite these economic gains however, human capital limitations, geographic isolation, inconsistent deal flow, and many other significant hurdles continue to limit venture capital investment in rural communities. 

A diverse range of perspectives were presented at the conference: Policy makers, in light of increasingly scarce federal subsidies, were candid about the importance of private investment in rural communities; investors explained their hesitation to invest; and academics outlined the untapped economic growth potential of rural America.  Despite the differing views, one common theme emerged from the conference: If brought into the investment mainstream, rural CDVC could trigger substantial productivity gains in rural markets while simultaneously offering venture capital investors a competitive and risk-based return.