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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11XXcelerate Fund was announced in Portland on January 30, 2017, as an effort to help women entrepreneurs build Oregon businesses by pairing financing with business support. The launch plan called for loans and grants; later records document a loan fund launch in 2019 and one $50,000 award. The organization subsequently rebranded as Xcelerate Women, but its public rebrand page does not establish whether the former loan fund still operates or accepts applications.
What was the XXcelerate Fund?
XXcelerate Fund was a Portland initiative created by local women entrepreneurs, investors and lenders using capacity funding from the Portland Development Commission, now known as Prosper Portland. The initiative’s stated aim was to help build profitable Oregon-based businesses and address what its founders saw as a shortage of capital for women entrepreneurs. Prosper Portland’s January 30, 2017 account also quoted the fund’s January 25 post thanking the agency for $30,000 in startup capital.
GeekWire reported that early kitchen-table discussions involved Portland business leaders Mara Zepeda, Paige Hendrix Buckner and Genevieve LeMarchal. The entrepreneurs approached Robin Klemm with the idea of a debt-financing fund and asked her to serve as executive director. Astrid Scholz and Jill Nelson also helped launch it. Klemm, described in the report as a longtime angel investor and technology consultant, said, “We have to start somewhere and a fund dedicated to women is a good place to focus.”
Why did the founders focus on women-led businesses?
The founders framed the fund as a response to barriers women entrepreneurs faced in securing startup and growth capital. In GeekWire’s 2017 launch report, Klemm said women received only 3 percent of venture capital and 5 percent of small-business loans. Those figures are Klemm’s attributed statements in that article, not current statistics; the quoted passage does not identify an underlying dataset.
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Prosper Portland summarized an initial survey by the fund’s creators in which 40 percent of founders identified as underrepresented or people of color. The agency’s page does not state the survey’s sample size, so that figure should be read as a report of the creators’ initial survey, not as a representative estimate of Portland’s founder population.
What did the fund plan to offer?
Financing and launch-era criteria
At launch, XXcelerate was seeking loan capital and grants from government entities, foundations, businesses and individuals. GeekWire reported an initial fundraising goal of $500,000 before the fund named its first recipient. Its launch-era criteria focused on Oregon businesses led by women that had demonstrated market fit and an established customer base. These were descriptions of the 2017 plan, not confirmed current application requirements.
Business support alongside capital
The plan was not financing alone. Launch coverage said recipients would receive financial education, sales guidance, mentorship and peer support. A later Business Oregon presentation to the Oregon Growth Fund described XXcelerate as offering business education, peer support and financing pathways for Oregon-based women-led companies.
Did XXcelerate make loans?
Yes. The Business Oregon presentation, circa 2020, says the loan fund launched in 2019 and records one $50,000 award, with $700,000 available at the time of the presentation. Those are historical figures from that presentation, not a statement of present-day funding or availability.
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A January 2020 loan-program report describes pilot loans of $5,000 to $50,000 over five years at a fixed 10 percent rate. The report lists eligibility conditions including an Oregon location, majority ownership by a program participant, annual revenue under $5 million, financial integrity and a viable growth strategy. These are historical pilot terms; they should not be treated as an offer currently open to applicants.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What happened to XXcelerate Fund?
XXcelerate and the related XXcelerate Fund later rebranded as Xcelerate Women. Its rebrand page describes an evolution into a support and educational organization for women and people who identify with gender bias, with the aim of helping them grow businesses and create generational wealth. Its current site navigation lists business advising, peer mentorship and education.
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The rebrand page does not say whether the former loan fund still operates or accepts applications. Because the documented loan amounts, eligibility criteria and rates come from historical materials, prospective borrowers should not rely on them as current terms or assume there is an active application route.
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