Award-winning venture studio, Talino Venture Labs, and its portfolio company Asenso support the LAEDC-led coalition's project to win EDA's $1 Billion "Build Back Better"

LOS ANGELES, March 24, 2022 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Talino Venture Labs, the LA-based venture studio of award-winning, financial inclusion technology startups, supports the coalition of regional stakeholders led by the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC), a finalist for the $1 billion 'Build Back Better Regional Challenge' initiated by the U.S. Economic Development Authority (EDA).

Talino is joined by its portfolio company, Asenso, an innovative Lending-as-a-Service fintech firm that empowers community banks and community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to provide lower-cost loans at scale.

The LAEDC-led coalition will advance to Phase 2 and compete for up to $100 million in American Rescue Plan funding to develop and scale blue (marine and maritime) and green (agriculture, forestry, manufacturing, renewable energy, and tourism) sector innovations within the Goods Movement Ecosystem (GME) in Southern California.

"LAEDC is proud to have Talino's support. We greatly look forward to everything we will further accomplish with Talino and its portfolio of startups working on helping communities thrive—from making capital more accessible to small businesses, and, together with our public and private partners, create sustainable jobs and enterprises for the region, further strengthening Southern California's position as the country's leading trade gateway," said LAEDC COO Stephen Cheung.

"Talino is a proud member of the LAEDC Board of Governors, and together with our portfolio company Asenso, we stand by the LAEDC's commitment to ensure an equitable and inclusive post-pandemic economic recovery for all Americans," said Winston Damarillo, CEO of Talino Venture Labs.

Asenso was created from Talino's award for the "market-readiness category" of the 2021 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) tech sprint challenge to reach unbanked and underserved communities in the United States. "Our work at Asenso is a testament to our mission of inclusive growth; through our work, community banks and CDFIs are provided with the technological and operational expertise they need to make capital more accessible to small and medium enterprises, a significant percentage of which are underserved and underrepresented," said Keny Chang, President of Asenso.

Building Resilient, Future-Proof Economies
The EDA's Build Back Better Regional Challenge aims to assist communities nationwide in their efforts to accelerate economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and build resilient local economies. It is the largest economic development initiative in decades from the U.S. Department of Commerce.

In a press release in December 2021, Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo said, "The Build Back Better Regional Challenge aims to supercharge local economies and increase American competitiveness around the globe." Secretary Raimondo further noted, "The outpouring of interest in this program shows the demand for the Build Back Better agenda and the desire to not only create good-paying jobs but also strengthen our country's economic resiliency for years down the road."

As one of the Phase 1 finalists, the LAEDC-led coalition was awarded $500,000 to further develop its plans to advance more equitable and sustainable growth in the region's GME and position Los Angeles as a powerhouse in the ocean economy, which comprises industries that heavily rely on marine resources.

In Phase 2, finalists will compete for significant implementation assistance. EDA will award 20 to 30 coalitions each with up to $100 million in funding to assist communities in executing ambitious growth initiatives across a variety of strategic growth sectors.

A potential win for the LAEDC-led coalition will go a long way in helping Talino leverage support for its global mission to close the $5.2T financial inclusion gap for over 1.7 billion around the world.

Learn more about the EDA's Build Back Better Regional Challenge at
https://eda.gov/arpa/build-back-better/.

Participate in Asenso's equity crowdfunding campaign by visiting https://wefunder.com/asenso.

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Investor Contact:
Carina Oriel
Asenso Finance
[email protected]

Media Contact:
Carol Warren
Creor Group
[email protected]

Media Contact

Carol Warren, CREW Communications, +1 (714) 890-4500, [email protected]

SOURCE Talino Venture Labs