How does First Enterprise actually put its JPMorgan Chase funding to use?
First Enterprise deployed its JPMorgan Chase-backed funding across three concrete initiatives: it engaged Simon Day as a fractional CFO to build robust financial models tied to the Community Enabled Fund and its community impact reporting; it contracted the Finance and Leasing Association (FLA) to deliver a two-day specialist underwriting training for underwriters, investment managers and support staff; and it invested in TrackGPT licences to strengthen its internal systems.
These three moves reflect the core logic of the broader programme — what Daniel Davis describes as "capital plus capacity". The £4 million capacity-building initiative announced by Responsible Finance in November 2024 and backed by JPMorgan Chase was specifically designed so that CDFIs like First Enterprise could do more than simply deploy more loans. It gave them the runway to professionalise their operations, train their teams and build the financial infrastructure needed to unlock larger pools of capital, including the British Business Bank's Community Enabled Fund.
The choice to bring in a fractional CFO rather than a full-time hire reflects a pragmatic approach to resourcing a community lender operating in underserved markets. By building financial models that directly connect lending activity to community outcomes, First Enterprise is also positioning itself to demonstrate impact at scale — a prerequisite for accessing the kind of senior financing and philanthropic investment that JPMorgan Chase has made available across the CDFI sector. You can hear Daniel Davis explain the full approach on Listenly.
"For economic growth to reach all areas of the country, particularly underserved or under-invested regions, it has to be intentionally inclusive."
— Daniel Davis, Deputy Director, First Enterprise
Daniel Davis joined First Enterprise on 2 January 2024, stepping into a role with a clear mandate: sharpen the organisation's operations and deepen its ability to serve underserved communities across the UK.
His background spans digital transformation, operational improvement and direct SME support — a mix built both from working inside businesses and from running his own. That breadth means he brings a practitioner's understanding of what growing businesses actually need, not just what funders assume they need.
At First Enterprise, a CDFI operating in a sector where over 60% of loans reach disadvantaged communities, Davis sits at the intersection of operational rigour and community mission. His work on deploying the JPMorgan Chase-backed capacity funding — from hiring a fractional CFO to investing in underwriting training and AI tooling — reflects precisely the kind of operational transformation the programme was designed to enable.
That combination of hands-on business experience and institutional reform makes him a credible voice on how CDFIs can scale their impact without losing their community focus.