News and Events
Accion and US SBA Partnership Helps Local Entrepreneurs Get Started
Accion and the Small Business Administration Introduce
Lower-Interest Loans for Entrepreneurs in Northwest Indiana
National Small Business Week is May
20-26
Chicago, Ill., May 21, 2012 -- Accion, a nonprofit microfinance leader, has increased
the volume of small business loans available at lower interest rates in
Northwest Indiana through a partnership with the U.S. Small Business
Administration (SBA).
Small business owners and
bankers are invited to attend the grand launch of this program on June 26 to
learn more about Accion small business loan eligibility. The event will be an
open house hosted by the Northwest Indiana Small Business Development Center
(SBDC) in Crown Point, IN, Accion’s local business education partner.
Effective May 2012, Accion is
now an SBA Microlender Intermediary in Indiana, which allows it to make small
business loans at rates as low as 8.87% for qualified borrowers.
The SBA’s Microloan Program
was developed to increase the availability of smaller business loans to
prospective small business borrowers. Under this program, the SBA makes funds
available to nonprofit intermediaries, like Accion, which in turn make loans to
eligible borrowers.
Accion makes $500 to $50,000
loans in Porter and Lake Counties to existing and start-up small businesses
that have been unable to get bank financing. In an effort to increase small
business success in Lake and Porter counties, Accion expanded its services into
Indiana in 2008. Since that time, Accion has accomplished steady growth, providing
30 small business loans totaling $210,846 by the end of 2011.
For more information about
Accion’s small business loan requirements and how to apply, visit www.accionchicago.org.
ABOUT ACCION
Accion Chicago is a member of
the Accion U.S. Network, the largest microfinance network in the United States.
Since its founding in 1991, members have collectively lent $305 million to small
business owners nationwide. Accion Chicago has disbursed more than $20 million
to over 2,600 clients since 1994. Last year, Accion Chicago originated 301
loans in Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland area worth more than $2 million.
From 2010 through the first three quarters of 2011, loans originated by Accion
have created or retained more than 1,000 jobs.
To learn more
about Accion SBA loans in Northwest Indiana, click here to read a recent
article in the Northwest Indiana Times.