DETROIT — The Local Initiatives Support Corporation is offering a new line of small business loans. This new infusion of dollars could aid entrepreneurs who are currently operating and those that wish to operate in low-income communities.
Working with the Small Business Administration and its Community Advantage program, LISC will provide loans under $250,000 to small businesses that put down roots in distressed neighborhoods or those looking to expand to meet growing demand.
LISC, which has worked to revitalize low-income communities for more than three decades, is only the third organization approved to make such loans on a national scale with the federal government’s backing.
Loans can be used to finance working capital, inventory, equipment, business acquisitions, real estate development, and tenant improvements that help small businesses thrive.
“If we are to make low-income neighborhoods safer, more prosperous places to live, we need to support businesses — the backbone of local economies,” said Kevin Boes, president of New Markets Support Company, the Chicago-based LISC affiliate focused on commercial lending and investing in high-poverty neighborhoods.
Detroit LISC currently implements the place-based model in the neighborhoods of Grand/Woodward, Grandmont Rosedale, and Springwells Village and also supports neighborhood investment in Northwest, Southwest, Northeast, Central, and East Detroit. The SBA loans will allow existing work to revitalize storefronts, façade improvements, better secure property for customers, build arts and entertainment centers, allow existing businesses to expand and return to the city, and support other commercial and community facilities in distressed neighborhoods. In addition, NMSC also provides SBA 504 loans and leverages New Markets Tax Credits to support these efforts.
For more information, visit www.sba.gov/content/community-advantage.