Bowling Green, Ky.--The expansion of the Kentucky Micro Enterprise Loan Program, ensures entrepreneurs in all 120 Kentucky counties will have access to a microloan program.
Until now, 25 counties, primarily in western Kentucky, did not have local access to a microloan program, which provides financing up to $35,000 for entrepreneurs and small business operations that, in most cases, would find it difficult to obtain conventional funding.
Funded by a one-time state allocation of $125,000 from the Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority (KEDFA), the expanded loan program will be administered by Community Ventures Corporation (CVC), a private, nonprofit community and business development organization, from their regional office in Bowling Green.
The program will be structured similar to a 16-month pilot Kentucky Micro Enterprise Loan Program that was started in 2007, and was also administered by CVC. CVC will leverage state funding to obtain additional federal loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
 |
The 2007 pilot program, which started with an initial, one-time investment of just over $500,000, leveraged state funds to obtain $1.5 million in federal funding from the U.S. SBA. With these funds, the program made more than $300,000 in microloans during the pilot period; established a new office in Louisville; provided one-on-one business counseling and training to hundreds of entrepreneurs; and achieved a loan default rate of approximately 4.6 percent. Because of the leveraged funds, CVC continues to make loans even after the pilot program ended in June 2008.
“With these funds, we can be assured that all of Kentucky’s counties will now be a part of its economic success,” said Kevin R. Smith, president and CEO of CVC. “We look forward to expanding opportunities in these counties and providing necessary capital for innovation throughout the region.”
Through the expanded loan program, CVC will make micro-loans available to qualified businesses in the following counties: Trigg, Lyon, Livingston, Crittenden, Caldwell, Christian, Todd, Muhlenberg, Hopkins, Ohio, Butler, Logan, Simpson, Warren, Allen, Barren, Grayson, Hancock, Breckinridge, Meade, Nelson, Henry, Trimble, Carroll and Owen.
The Cabinet for Economic Development routinely works with small business organizations from across the state to provide resources, advocacy and assistance to small and minority businesses. For more information about the Kentucky Micro Enterprise Loan Program and the cabinet’s other small business programs, visit www.ThinkKentucky.com
 |
All comment postings require your name and email address for user verification only. Your email address will not be used or distributed for any other purpose.
No advertising is permitted and will result in the post being deleted and/or banning. Please click "REPORT" to report any inappropriate posts. blog comments powered by Disqus
Permission to Reproduce:
Unless otherwise stated, the copyright and similar rights to all material published on this website are owned by The Manufacturers Group Inc. DBA Manufacturing & Technology eJournal( mfrtech.com ). Reproduction of any article in print, electronic or any other form must acknowledge mfrtech.com as the Source and include a link to http://www.mfrtech.com
 |
