A bank was the first - and most obvious - place Carlene O'Garro went in 2007 when she needed a loan to buy equipment for her cake baking business, called Delectable Desires.

But her business was brand new, her loan needs were small, and although she had OK credit, O'Garro did not have perfect credit - a standard requirement to qualify for a bank loan in a struggling economy.

O'Garro turned to Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a microlending program funded by Boston Beer Co. and run by ACCION USA, a Boston-based microfinance organization.

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