Community Development Investors Launch CETA Accelerator for Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, September 28, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Community Development Investors (CDI) and Zelle® have launched a new initiative aimed at fostering entrepreneurship through the acquisition of existing small businesses. The program, known as the Community-Based Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (CETA) Accelerator, is designed to help aspiring entrepreneurs acquire and grow local businesses, creating lasting economic opportunities for communities across America.

The inaugural class of the CETA Accelerator includes 12-week tuition-free program for 20 participants. These participants, selected through a competitive application process, are undergraduate business students, MBA candidates, and mid-career professionals who are interested in acquiring and growing an existing business. The program is designed to prepare these individuals to take on the challenges of business ownership, with a focus on creating quality jobs and strengthening local institutions.

Participants in the Fall 2026 class will benefit from the support of Zelle®, which is providing the program tuition-free and with no application fee. This initiative aims to reduce barriers to accessing the training, coaching, and networks needed to pursue business ownership. Participants must come from a low-income or low-wealth background or demonstrate a commitment to acquiring and growing a business that serves and strengthens a low-income community.

The CETA Accelerator is being led by Archie Jones, a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School and CEO of NxGen COACH Network. The program will provide participants with practical education, coaching, mentorship, and strategic guidance. It will connect participants to experienced acquisition entrepreneurs, lenders, investors, business owners, advisers, and employee ownership experts. The program will guide participants through the key stages of the acquisition process, including business sourcing, financial analysis and valuation, due diligence, financing, transaction structuring, negotiation, closing, post-acquisition leadership, and business growth.

Additionally, the program will educate participants on employee ownership and other ownership-sharing strategies that can create long-term value for workers and businesses. The partnership with Zelle® supports CDI’s effort to broaden access to business ownership by providing participants with intensive education, mentorship, and connections to the broader acquisition ecosystem.

This initiative comes at a critical time, as millions of small business owners approach retirement. Without qualified buyers or succession strategies, many viable businesses may close, putting jobs, locally rooted companies, and community economic activity at risk. This could destroy the value owners have built over decades of work, threaten jobs, discourage local investment, and remove long-standing community institutions. At the same time, this transition creates a significant opportunity to expand pathways to business ownership for a new generation of entrepreneurs.

CDI’s Community-Based Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (CETA) model combines Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition, community development, and employee ownership strategies to help entrepreneurs think beyond the transaction itself. The model is designed to support successful business acquisitions while encouraging owners to create quality jobs, invest in employees, strengthen local institutions, and build businesses that contribute to the long-term economic vitality of their communities.

The CETA Accelerator runs from September 28 through December 21, 2026, and will be primarily virtual, with select in-person meetings and events. Participants will have the opportunity to learn from experienced acquisition entrepreneurs, lenders, investors, business owners, advisers, and employee ownership experts. Zelle® is providing the program tuition-free and with no application fee, helping to reduce barriers to accessing the training, coaching, and networks needed to pursue business ownership.

The CETA Accelerator is part of CDI’s broader effort to respond to the "Silver Tsunami" of small business retirements by connecting retiring owners with qualified entrepreneurs from underserved communities, preserving jobs, sustaining local businesses, and expanding pathways to wealth creation.