The hard beginnings of Bengal Cafe
Nasrin Iman and her husband, Ali, came to the United States from Bangladesh to build a future for their children. She laughs and says, "I didn't know it was hard to get rich in the United States. You have to work!" At this point, work is seven days a week for the restaurant owners. They opened Bengal Café in Cambridge, Massachusetts a little over a year ago and have only taken three days off since.

The credit challenge
Naturally, Nasrin and Ali came to the United States and began establishing their Bengladeshi restaurant without a credit history or rating. The day quickly arrived when they needed additional capital to build and maintain the restaurant. They tried the big commercial banks but were turned away. "Not everybody has good credit; not everybody has a chance to go to the big banks," Nasrin explains. Soon, however, they discovered ACCION USA and its business loan program specifically aimed at helping small business owners like themselves.

The foundations of success
Nasrin appreciates the unique way that ACCION USA helps her and so many others in her position saying, "We can go to ACCION and get microloans and it really helps us to build credit." In taking out and paying back the ACCION USA loan, Nasrin is confident that she and Ali will soon be able to go to the banks that first rejected them and, this time, secure a small business loan at an even lower rate. 

Today, Bengal Café is making the type of connections that signal permanent success. Nasrin and Ali have catering contracts with a few of the major universities in the area and are on the cusp of signing a contract to supply a local Whole Foods grocery store with their delicious and unique dishes. In the meantime, they delight in satisfying their customers with their elaborate dishes from Bangladesh, "where food and eating is a huge part of the culture."

Donate Now

Each day, countless entrepreneurs like Nasrin and Ali are turned away from major banks, trying to obtain credit.  Your donation to ACCION USA will allow us to continue helping hard working small business owners, just like Nasir and Ali.