56 Roland St.
Suite 300
Boston, MA 02129
P: (866) 245-0783
F: (617) 625-7020
E: info@accionusa.org
ACCION USA (www.accionusa.org) is a private, nonprofit organization that provides loans and other financial services to low-and-moderate-income entrepreneurs who are unable to access bank credit for their businesses. With economic opportunity, these entrepreneurs, primarily minorities and women, can build assets, better provide for their families and strengthen their communities. Since its inception, ACCION USA has disbursed $14.7 million in loans ranging from $500 to $25,000 to entrepreneurs in Florida, Georgia, New England, and, more recently, nationwide. ACCION USA: Lending. Supporting. Inspiring. ACCION USA was launched in 1991 and is a subsidiary of ACCION International, a private, nonprofit organization that gives the self-employed poor the financial tools they need—microenterprise loans, business training, and other financial services—to work their way out of poverty. A world pioneer in microfinance, ACCION International issued the first microloan in 1973 in Brazil. ACCION International’s partner microfinance institutions today are providing loans as low as $100 to poor men and women entrepreneurs in 22 countries in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. ACCION USA and five licensees comprise the U.S. ACCION Network. Since its inception, ACCION USA and its partners have lent over $154 million to more than 16,000 women and men across the country, helping them expand their businesses, increase their income and improve the well-being of their families. More than 80 percent are minorities and 44 percent are women. Almost 93 percent of these loans have been repaid. The largest microlending network in the United States, the U.S. ACCION Network maintains offices in eight regional locations:
ACCION USA's goal is to make access to credit a permanent resource to the millions of owners of small businesses in the United States. ACCION sees credit as a resource that can help to narrow the income gap and provide financial opportunities, fostering economic growth in distressed areas. At the heart of this vision is the recognition that microlending organizations must be financially sustainable, not perennially dependent on donations or government aid. For this reason, ACCION works to streamline its lending process to lower costs and to reach ever-increasing numbers of people. ACCION's programs are designed to become self-sufficient within three to ten years. In 1997, President Clinton honored the U.S. ACCION Network with one of the first Presidential Awards for Excellence in Microenterprise Development for its success in demonstrating the viability of microlending in the United States. In 2005, ACCION USA launched the first online loan application for microloans in the United States, making ACCION USA loans accessible across the country.
As Americans, we have long cherished the belief that we can build better lives for ourselves and our children if we work hard and sacrifice. Yet for millions of Americans, this is no longer true. In the last decade, the United States has seen tremendous economic prosperity. But while those at the top of the economic ladder are earning more than ever, many have been left behind. Income inequality in the United States has never been higher. According to a recent study by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, the average income of the poorest 20 percent of families is now ten times less than the average income of the most affluent 20 percent. To these American families, the building blocks of stability—savings, insurance and assets—remain hopelessly out of reach. In response, millions of men and women across the United States are starting their own small businesses. In the true American tradition, they are struggling to create better lives through their ingenuity and sheer hard work. They sew clothes at home, cater from their kitchens or start corner grocery stores. ACCION USA is dedicated to supporting these "microentrepreneurs" by providing them with two essential tools: capital and business assistance. With capital, microentrepreneurs can stabilize and grow their small businesses. They can increase their income and even spark community revitalization by generating jobs and commerce in neighborhoods devastated by years of neglect. But there is a problem: most microentrepreneurs don't have access to capital. Often low-income, they lack the collateral and credit history to borrow from a bank. In an effort to bridge this credit gap, ACCION brought its microlending model to the United States in 1991 after 20 years of success in Latin America.
In October 1999, ACCION commissioned a professional research firm to uncover the existing market for microlending services. The study consisted of a quantitative phone analysis conducted in nine cities and focus groups conducted in five cities. The study found that there is a large market in the United States and that the needs of that market are not being met by other credit sources. On a national basis the research concluded the following:
Overall, those participating in the focus groups did not even consider banks to be a viable source of credit. In fact, more than 40 percent had never considered a bank loan for their business. One microentrepreneur in Atlanta commented: "A bank is the last place I would go!" Participants cited lack of collateral or credit history, racial and ethnic bias, small loan size, and a lengthy approval process as deterrents to applying for a bank loan. And, they felt banks are often difficult to get to, bureaucratic and inflexible. Those who do access credit do so through credit cards, family or friends. (For a summary of the ACCION U.S. Market Study, click here.) The U.S. ACCION Network of lending programs provide loans from $500 to $50,000 at interest rates between 11-16 percent. First loans average $5,400. Borrowers who repay their loans on time are eligible for increasingly larger loans. This process keeps initial risk at a minimum while allowing microentrepreneurs to responsibly grow their businesses and increase their incomes. ACCION offers individual and group loan products with terms of 3 to 60 months, including:
ACCION also provides key links to other business resources in the community. Through partnerships with banks, community development organizations and other local groups, ACCION receives client referrals and in turn refers clients to a range of business services including training in bookkeeping, financial statement preparation, marketing, business plan writing and computer skills.
ACCION USA works with low- and moderate-income individuals who own their own businesses, but who are economically marginalized and have no access to commercial business loans. They frequently are unable to afford formal business training and often have no forum for networking, business contacts or peer support. They are single mothers on public assistance and storefront owners with small but well-established businesses. They are immigrants and people whose families have lived in this country for generations. When they apply for their first loan, ACCION borrowers typically have owned their business for three years, but one in four has been in business for less than one year. What ACCION borrowers share is a determination to make a better life for themselves and their children. Clients of the ACCION USA Network:
The ACCION model works. Since 1991, the U.S. ACCION Network has become the largest microlending network in the United States and has loaned more than $154 million to over 16,000 microentrepreneurs. The tangible economic benefits of microlending are clearly demonstrated in a study undertaken by ACCION and released in April 1998. Of 849 clients studied over three years, take-home income increased by 38 percent or an average of $455 a month after just two loans. As a group, the 849 borrowers realized a total increase of $228,000 in monthly business profits and contributed a total increase of $215,000 each month to their households after entering ACCION-affiliated programs. A sub-group of 312 clients who received three loans or more saw the cumulative net worth of their businesses grow by over $1 million in total. ACCION USA is expanding nationwide to serve thousands of microentrepreneurs in a cost-effective way. We have analyzed every step of our lending process to eliminate bottlenecks and identify best practices.
Headquarters
Lending Offices
Lending Funding |