WE Lend Initiative to Increase Financing Access in U.S. Lending
Deserts
NEW YORK -- (Business Wire)
At the 2014 Catalyst Awards Conference, Sam’s Club CEO and President
Rosalind Brewer announced a $2.5 million grant from the Sam’s Club
Giving Program to grow U.S. women-owned businesses and jumpstart job
creation. Awarded to three leading non-profit organizations, the grant
creates the WE Lend Initiative, a two-year investment in
strengthening SBA-recognized
Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), which will increase access to
affordable loans and innovative training to hundreds of women
entrepreneurs.
“Lack of access to capital and financing continues to be a leading
deterrent to success for U.S. women-owned businesses,” said Brewer. “The
WE Lend Initiative seeks to bridge this financing gap and empower women
entrepreneurs to pursue their dreams. We are excited to support our
grantees and the Small Business Administration to advance Women’s
Business Centers and provide hundreds of women-owned businesses with
effective training and microlending resources.”
The
WE Lend Initiative leverages the powerful networks and expertise of
three national organizations dedicated to small business prosperity and
growth: Accion, the U.S. Network, National Community Reinvestment
Coalition (NCRC) and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP). The $2.5
million investment enables the WE Lend Initiative to achieve three key
objectives that will benefit women entrepreneurs:
-
Train select Women’s Business Centers to become microlenders and
provide capital for loans to women business owners
-
Strengthen the Women’s Business Center’s referral process, motivating
them to more effectively connect women with microlenders and financing
to grow their businesses
-
Increase the capacity of the Women’s Business Centers to provide the
women they serve with solid financial literacy and loan readiness
skills
“Women entrepreneurs are the foundation of the middle class and continue
to power and grow our economy,” said Erin Andrew, Assistant
Administrator for SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership. “We are
thrilled that Sam's Club has agreed to work with the National Community
Reinvestment Coalition, Accion and Women Impacting Public Policy to
support the work of our Women's Business Centers. As a result, women
visiting our WBCs will receive more training, information on access to
markets and capital, and increased opportunities to grow.”
According to new data from the Sam’s Club Gallup Microbusiness Tracker,
released this week, women remain a key growth sector in the area of
microbusiness, defined as firms with fewer than 5 employees. Women are
more likely to be owners of the newest small businesses and 67 percent
are still relying on personal savings to finance their business. 58
percent of women business-owners say having healthy cash reserves is a
major business concern.
Starting today, Women’s Business Centers can apply to receive WE Lend
Initiative training, capital and support at WE-LendInitiative.org.
Considerations for acceptance include need and capacity, and will be
influenced by grant research that will identify and rank U.S. lending
desert communities, defined as U.S. counties where small businesses
receive a percentage of loans far below the national median. Qualifying
Women’s Business Centers will be selected and notified by June 2014 and
enrolled in WE Lend Initiative’s Microloan Institute training program on
a rolling calendar through 2015. Visit WE-LendInitiative.org
for more information.
The WE Lend Initiative: A Powerful Collaboration
Sam’s
Club, the nation’s eighth largest retailer and a leading
U.S. membership club, offers savings and surprises to millions of
members in 635 U.S. club locations and at SamsClub.com. The Sam’s
Club Giving Program, established by the Walmart Foundation in 2008,
is dedicated to micro- and small business prosperity, investing more
than $11 million in national and local programs dedicated to
improved training, education and increased access to capital for small
business owners. For more information on national or local giving, visit SamsClub.com/giving.
ACCION,
the U.S. Network, the largest nationwide micro- and small
business lending network in the United States, connects small business
owners with the accessible financing and advice it takes to create or
grow healthy businesses. Since 1991, the five members of the Accion U.S.
Network have collectively made over 48,700 loans, totaling nearly $394
million. Additionally, over 400,000 business owners across the nation
have turned to Accion for financial and business advice via workshops,
online tools, and one-on-one consultations. Globally, Accion (www.accion.org)
is a pioneer in microfinance, reaching millions of individuals through
its international network of partners. For more information, visit us.accion.org.
The
National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) is an
association of more than 600 community-based organizations that promote
access to basic banking services, including credit and savings, to
create and sustain affordable housing, business development, job
creation, and vibrant communities for America’s working families.
Women
Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)is a non-profit,
non-partisan organization established in 2001 that educates and
advocates on behalf of its coalition of 4.7 million business women
including 75 business organizations. The WIPP Education Foundation
provides education and research for the economic empowerment of women
owned small businesses.
Women's
Business Centers (WBCs),as recognized by the U.S. Small
Business Administration, represent a national network of nearly 100
educational centers designed to assist women start and grow small
businesses. More than 150,000 women entrepreneurs visit WBC locations
each year. WBCs operate with the mission to "level the playing field"
for women entrepreneurs, who still face unique obstacles in the world of
business.
Contacts:
Sam’s Club
Media Relations Contacts:
Carrie Foster
Moore, 1-800-331-0085
Carrie.Foster@samsclub.com
SamsClub.com/newsroom
or
Accion,
The U.S. Network
Laura Kozien, 347-560-9727
lkozien@accion.org
us.accion.org
or
NCRC
Eric
Hersey, 202-524-4880
ehersey@ncrc.org
www.ncrc.org/media-center
or
WIPP
Jason
Lalak, 415-434-4314
http://www.wipp.org/
Jlalak@wipp.org
or
Small
Business Administration
Media Relations Team, 561-226-9431
mediarelations@sbasite.com
Source: Sam’s Club
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