How Can Microfinance Help Immigrant Entrepreneurs?
Last month Foulis Peacock from Immpreneur.com dropped by ACCION USA’s New York office to have a conversation with our CEO Paul Quintero about domestic microlending. While microfinance institutions have long played a role in developing economies, the concept and need for microlending services in the United States may be less familiar to many. With immigrant entrepreneurs driving small business growth in urban hubs around the country, domestic microfinance has never been more relevant.
In this video excerpt, Foulis and Paul discuss the special role of domestic microfinance as it relates to immigrant entrepreneurs, or “immpreneuers”.
To watch the full interview with ACCION CEO Paul Quintero click here!
5 Reasons to Buy Local this Holiday Season
This holiday season, we are looking at how social minded holiday shopping can make a positive impact on communities. Of course, we still want to be able to give gifts to our friends and loved ones – but wouldn’t it be nice to give a socially responsible gift by considering where the gift comes from? By making a conscious decision to patronize small businesses you can help to preserve local culture while also making a difference in the economy. ACCION USA works with new and growing microentreprises on a daily basis and realizes the profound role small businesses play in the economic and social fabric of this country. For that reason, we have created a list of 5 reasons to patronize small businesses for this year’s holiday shopping:
1. Improve your local economy
Chances are that the small businesses you are patronizing are owned by someone who lives in your community. This means that the money you spend locally will get filtered back in your local economy. And even if you are buying online, you are still creating a ripple effect through another community.
2. Create Jobs
Over the past two decades, small businesses have generated around 65% of new jobs. If independents regained their 1990 market shares, entrepreneurs could create 200,000 new small businesses, generate about $ 300 billion in revenue in the retail and restaurant sectors, and employ more than 1.6 million American workers.
3. Enrich your Community
Nobody wants to live in a neighborhood that lacks a small business culture. While franchises and national chain stores play a role in the national economy, we all know that small businesses provide an undeniable vibrancy and sentiment vital to community life. Many people believe that small businesses are not just the economic but also the social heartbeat of America.
4. Personalized Experience
Shopping at small local businesses always offers a personal and sincere customer-owner interaction, impossible to replicate with large-scale vendors. Small business shop owners are interested in their clients, know their wants and needs, and are willing to give their customer personal attention to answer questions about their products. Furthermore, a small business owner is passionately and inextricably linked to the success of his or her business, which means they are experts on the product that they create and sell.
5. Original, Handmade Gifts
If you like to give original, handmade gifts, you can’t beat shopping at a locally owned business. Small businesses are commonly thought of as trend setters – paving the way for their larger scale counterparts with an unbridled imagination and vision. Also, small businesses usually do not have to scale their product for a mass market, which ensures high craftsmanship and originality.
To buy local, visit your local store, view our client directory map, or buy online at our Holiday Marketplace: www.accionusa.org/marketplace
Celebrate Small Business at Festival Fete’s Holiday Market
As Small Business Saturday approaches, people across the country are reminded that where they buy gifts is just as important, if not more important, as what they buy. Small business is the lifeblood of local economies and conscious patronizing is the action that will drive job growth and reignite community vibrancy. That is why ACCION USA, a leader in domestic microlending and a proud partner of Small Business Saturday, is excited to announce our support for the entrepreneurs participating in the Festival Fete Holiday Market with a FREE credit seminar. Claudia Cardozo, business development officer at ACCION USA will lead the conversation as she teaches entrepreneurs different ways to access financing and promote their brand, with a focus on internet marketing.
Festival Fete’s Holiday Market embodies the spirit of small business, as an event featuring locally grown food, art and products from talented individuals across New England. The Holiday Market will include over 100 Contemporary American Craft artists, strolling entertainment, a farmers market, and children’s crafts and entertainment. The market is a 2-day extravaganza, taking place over Thanksgiving weekend (November 25th and 26th) at the Rhode Island Convention Center, 11am to 6pm daily. For entrepreneurs who are participating in the fair, we’d love to have you attend our credit seminar on November 26th just before the fair begins at 11am. Don’t worry if you can’t make it, you can find ACCION USA at booth 223 – stop by and say hello!
Microfinance Harvest Festival; A Night to be Remembered
On November 1 over 100 guests gathered at ACCION USA’s first ever Microfinance Harvest Festival to enjoy homebrewed beer, toe-tapping jazz and food from local small business owners. It was truly a night to be remembered! The event was held at the ING Café in Manhattan and was a glowing success, bringing together microfinance professionals, partners and entrepreneurs to celebrate and to learn more about ACCION USA’s mission to create financial inclusion for all.
Jesse from Brooklyn Taco serving his gourmet tacos!
Guests sampled a range of tasty, locally made dishes supplied by ACCION USA’s clients, from mouth watering Cola and Orange Braised Pork Shoulder Tacos courtesy of Brooklyn Taco to Sweet Plantain and White Cheese Arepas from Arepas Café. Dinner was washed down with either a complimentary Sam Adams beverage or a homebrewed beer sample from the homebrewer tasting competition (congrats to Jason Faulkner with his winning brew, “Lions Mane”!). And finally, no event is complete without dessert! Thanks to The Chocolate Swirl for providing their imaginative and gourmet brownie pops.
ACCION USA CEO Paul Quintero speaks about the impact of domestic microfinance.
To round off the night, ACCION USA’s CEO Paul Quintero spoke about the impact of domestic microfinance and introduced a few clients to share their personal stories about the journey of a small business owner. Underscoring the profound importance of financial inclusion, Jesse Kramer, owner of Brooklyn Taco, explained the challenges of securing financing for his business from a local bank. “As a recent graduate from culinary school with debt from student loans, no bank would take me seriously,” Jesse explained. Jesse’s dream of operating a culinary business that paid tribute to Mexican heritage while still celebrating a hip, modern Brooklyn culture was brought to life with a $5,000 microloan from ACCION USA. With it, Jesse expanded his business to a larger vendor space in the Essex Street Market, where his business continues to thrive.
It’s personal stories of determination and entrepreneurial spirit like Jesse’s that bring tremendous meaning to ACCION USA’s work to support small business owners and job creation. We thank Jesse for his tireless work as a microentrepeneur and all of the guests and volunteers who made the Microfinance Harvest Festival an evening to be remembered!
Pictures have been posted to our Facebook page – check them out and tag yourself too!
Mi Kitchen es su Kitchen
Last month Elizabeth Bueno and Erica Dorn from ACCION USA’s New York lending team hosted a two part seminar that financed 4 businesses within two weeks! The seminar was a huge success due to an amazing partner –Kathryn Gregory from Mi Kitchen Es Su Kitchen a star partner this month!
Food industry veteran Gregory conceived Mi Kitchen es su Kitchen in 1996, as a time-share rental facility available to up-and-coming food entrepreneurs. As the hands-on director of this consulting firm, her role is essentially twofold: she forms strategic alliances with not-for-profits who have an existing kitchen space and transforms it into a business incubator rental facility, which generates new revenue for the host organizations. At the same time, each kitchen incubator provides a nurturing facility to encourage start-up food business clients. Gregory advises clients on food safety, license requirements and legal issues while they work on perfecting their concepts in a legal working environment. She also oversees and hosts seminars for potential clients of the facility. The first incubator was established in Brooklyn and the concept is being developed for a nationwide rollout.
Please feel free to contact us to learn more about the successful attributes of this partnership and how we can replicate it with you!
In New York—Erica Dorn edorn@accionusa.org
In New England- Elizabeth Garlow egarlow@accionusa.org
Nationwide- Jennifer Spaziano jspaziano@accionusa.org
Tags: Foodie, Incubator Space, partners