A Big Win for Microfinance Awareness
A briefing for New York City Council members marked a big win for AUSA on the microfinance awareness front. As you may know from my previous blog post, a lack of public awareness has hindered microlenders from growing to scale and fully reaching the small business community.
Over lunch, catered by AUSA client-owned business Kahlua’s Café, president and CEO Gina Harman presented a compelling case to our city’s key decision-makers:
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There are over 900,000 microbusinesses within New York city limits. ACCION USA has provided just over 11,000 loans in its 16 year history. We have a long way to grow.
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Despite this, AUSA loans have the potential to solve city problems ranging from unemployment (each AUSA loan provided helps create 1.7 jobs) to childhood obesity (loans made to street vegetable vendors help bring healthy foods to low-income neighborhoods!)
AUSA client Sandra Penaranda (right) stole the show at a recent City Council briefing. Her loan consultant, Ana Maria Ruiz, translated her compelling story.
While the facts are staggering, what really got the group’s attention was a testimonial given by two-time AUSA borrower Sandra Penaranda. She originally used a loan of a few thousand dollars to get both her credit history and record sales business started. Thanks to this support, her business has grown strong enough to earn a contract with the MTA—her new store opens up in the Jackson Heights-Roosevelt Ave. train stop next week.
The support of city lawmakers will be crucial in helping AUSA to reach as many metropolitan area entrepreneurs as possible. By providing capacity for grants and no- or low-cost capital to lenders, engaging in partnerships that increase microlenders’ visibility, and encouraging lending in risky markets via loan guarantee funds, the City can do its small businesses right.
That’s what AUSA petitioned for—if you run into your City Council member on the street, it wouldn’t hurt to do the same!
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:11 pm
What fascinates me about Queens is the variety of ethnic groups. I live near Sandra’s store. Within blocks is perhaps the best Indian food in the city, the best Thai food, many Irish pubs, Phillipine grocery stores, an Afghan restaurant, etc.
I’ve spent many years working to develop this borough; offering financing to the small businesses up and down Roosevelt Avenue has the potential to make a significant difference in the lives of the borrowers, as well as the lives of the neighborhoods, and thereby the City of New York.