A new computer center at Job Link Inc., a minority-owned employment agency in Providence, has been named for the financial institution that followed a half-million-dollar investment last spring with the donation of 22 computers this fall.
The BankBoston Computer Center at 674 Elmwood Ave. was dedicated in a Nov. 16 ceremony in appreciation of the BankBoston Development Company (BBDC). The subsidiary of BankBoston Corp. lends to and invests in small, mostly minority-owned businesses in need of venture capital.
The BBDC last march invested $500,000 in Job Link, making the agency its first equity, or ownership, investment in Rhode Island. The capital infusion is just a portion of the $100 million the BBDC expects to invest in distressed urban and rural communities throughout New England during the next four years.
The BBDC became part owner of Job Link with its original investment. That money is expected to generate 25,000 jobs over five years, according to the agency. In return, the BBDC expects to earn market rate on its investment, the bank said.
Job Link was founded in 1983 by Ali Cabral and Dennis Iacobbo. It expanded in 1987 to include Massachusetts. Over the years, it has placed 150,000 economically disadvantaged people in temporary and permanent jobs, according to the agency. It works with more than 300 companies, most of which are considered small to mid-size.
