SBA Awards $250,000 to CCI for small business lending in North Carolina

RALEIGH, N.C., June 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Carolina Community Impact (CCI), a non-profit organization supporting community development and financial assistance to individuals and small businesses in North Carolina, has received a commitment of $250,000 to lend to small businesses in North Carolina.

CCI is the second SBA microloan lender based in North Carolina, along with Mountain BizWorks. CCI's microloan program will provide loans up to $50,000 in the following 13 counties: Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Franklin, Harnett, Johnson, Lee, Orange, Person, Vance, Wake, and Warren in North Carolina, with hopes of future expansion to other parts of the state.

"We want to be the lender in NC that helps with the first two rungs of the small business lending ladder. SBA's Microloan program is part of our solution," said Mike Croxson, CEO of Carolina Community Impact.

"North Carolina posted a record in new business filings for 2021 and continues to report more records this fiscal year. We congratulate Carolina Community Impact on their recent award as an SBA microloan intermediary lender. We look forward to their playing a key role in ensuring that our growing small business population gets the capital it needs to start, develop and grow," said Mike Arriola, the SBA District Director for North Carolina.

CCI funding is available to all small businesses. Still, the organization proactively focuses most of its resources on meeting the needs of underserved and underbanked companies owned by people of color and women.

CCI serves as a stepping stone for entrepreneurs to access capital. For some borrowers, the "first rung" of the capital ladder might be a zero-percent crowd-funded loan using the Kiva platform, and CCI operates the only Kiva Hub in the state. Potential borrowers who complete a cohort-based training program become eligible to receive Kiva loan matching funds.

The next rung of the capital ladder could be a traditional small business loan up to $150,000. However, many underserved businesses can't secure funding from other lenders. As an SBA Microloan lender, CCI will have access to more loan capital and resources to provide business coaching to bridge that funding gap.

For more information about CCI's lending programs, visit www.ccifund.org or call 919-785-0718

SOURCE Carolina Community Impact