Arizona is launching its new microbusiness loan program through community lenders statewide, including the Tucson-based Community Investment Corp. and Groundswell Capital for Southern Arizona.
The program was established by the Legislature last year to provide $5 million statewide for loans of up to $50,000 through community lending agencies to independently owned Arizona businesses with five or fewer employees.
Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Arizona Office of Economic Opportunity on Thursday launched the Arizona Microbusiness Loan Program with five selected nonprofit microbusiness lending programs and a nonprofit community group.
CIC and Groundswell were chosen to handle the program in Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Pima and Santa Cruz counties.
For more information or to apply for a loan through the program, go to cictucson.org or groundswellcapital.org.
The other lenders selected for the program were Growth Partners Arizona (Coconino, Mohave, La Paz and Yavapai counties); Native Community Capital (serving tribal communities across Arizona); Border Financial Resources (Yuma County); and the Verde Valley Regional Economic Organization (Verde Valley region of Yavapai County).
The program aims to foster economic development and job creation in communities throughout Arizona, and each lending partner will provide required financial education and training for borrowers designed to boost the programβs local impact.
Office of Economic Opportunity Cabinet Executive Officer Carlos Contreras said the chosen lending partners are recognized as βchampionsβ in their communities, citing their work with existing small-business lending programs.
Dre Thompson, CEO of Groundswell Capital, said the program will allow the nonprofit lending organization to expand its successful Avanza Empowerment Fund.
βBy providing accessible capital and innovative products through our Alternative Loan Program, weβre not just supporting individual entrepreneurs; weβre investing in the economic resilience and vibrancy of our entire region,β said Caroline Nelson, the CICβs chief operating officer and director of lending.
There are more than 85,000 microbusinesses in Arizona that employ about 155,000 people, the state economic-opportunity office says.
But they often face challenges in securing loan funding including limited or no credit history, insufficient collateral, limited business experience and a lack of financial documentation, the agency said.
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