Representatives from the U.S. Small Business Administration were in Indianola on Thursday looking for entrepreneurs during a small business borrower/lender matchmaking event entitled Mississippi Meet the Microlenders in the Delta.
The event, hosted by District Director Janita R. Stewart, was designed to provide information for anyone thinking of starting their own business or planning to grow their current business. She said it was an opportunity for the microlenders to meet with the public and acquaint them with what they are able to do with regard to making micro-loans.
Stewart said the SBA is targeting Sunflower County and the neighboring areas, which include Washington, Bolívar and Leflore counties, with a concentration on microlending. “because we understand that there are small businesses that still have challenges in terms of fitting into the traditional credit box of a lending institution.”
The SBA attempts to address that issue through its micro-loan program, in which your credit doesn’t have to be 100 percent perfect, Stewart said.
Startup or existing businesses must meet certain criterion, such as qualifying as a small business, but according to Stewart, 98 percent of businesses in America are small.
There is also a credit criterion, but she suggests talking to the individual micro-lender because it may vary. Micro-loan proceeds can be used for working capital, to purchase supplies, or buy equipment. The program extends up to $50,000 to the borrower and there are three certified lenders authorized by SBA to administer the loans in the state, two were present on Thursday.
SBA officials have been conducting these type events throughout the state to do marketing and outreach in areas that it cannot frequent as much as they would like. “We just want people to know about this, take advantage, do whatever you need to do to realize your dream.” Stewart said small businesses are what makes America work.
She touted the event as a way to provide, under one roof, what an individual needs in order to get into business. The SBA can provide access to money, information on what’s needed to be licensed with the state and help with business and marketing plans. “you know, some of those steps that sometimes small businesses and entrepreneurs don’t take,” said Stewart.
How the program works is, SBA makes a loan to the micro-lender and the lender has to match that with non-borrowed, non-federal funds that go into a pool and are used to extend loans to the borrowers.
The SBA was officially established in 1953 as a result of the Small Business Act of 1953 and is described as a small independent federal agency organized to help people get into business prosper and grow. This is done through counseling, access to capital and contracting opportunities plus disaster assistance in times of federally declared national disasters.
Anyone who missed the workshop but is interested in the program can contact the SBA district office in Jackson at 601-965-4378 or contact the lenders, Renaissance Community Loan Fund, LiftFund, Communities Unlimited Incorporated, directly. They also have a smaller office located on the gulf coast.
Stewart said, “we just want people to follow through, don’t give up, be persistent, things don’t happen overnight. We’re just here to help them along their way and realize their dream.”
