Many people lack a decent credit score to get a commercial bank loan when they want to start a business, like a restaurant or daycare.
A microlending firm in central Louisiana held a ceremony Tuesday to announce its new name that more closely aligns with its mission to help these entrepreneurs achieve their small business dreams.
The San Antonio-based LiftFund, formerly called Accion, started making small loans – as low as $500 -- in Alexandria six years ago. Since then, it has made more than $1 million in loans to over 100 borrowers in the area, according to its CEO Janie Barrera.
“Here in Alexandria and Central Louisiana what we’re trying to do is help by providing that small business loan to the entrepreneur who is not ready for the bank,” Barrera said. “We get them ready for the bank so they can graduate from our program.”
Barrera told a crowd at the Central Louisiana Business Incubator that LiftFund’s current loan repayment rate is 97 percent and it disbursed $26 million in loans last year.