United States
The United States boasts the largest and one of the most technologically advanced economies in the world, and yet many remain financially underserved in this land of progress and plenty. Over 10 million microbusinesses, or those with fewer than five employees, provide 18 percent of employment in the United States. As important as these businesses are for the economy, and for the large number of people who depend on them, microbusinesses still lack access to mainstream credit due to insufficient credit histories or a short length of time in business. This lack of credit is one of the reasons more than half of small businesses fail in their first four years.
A Highlight of ACCION’s Work in the United States:
ACCION USA, ACCION Texas and ACCION New Mexico each earned a $1 million grant from the 2008 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The grants enable the nonprofits to continue boosting access to capital and financial literacy for low- and moderate-income individuals in the wake of increasing U.S. unemployment. The U.S. ACCION Network, comprised of ACCION USA and four licensees – ACCION Chicago, ACCION New Mexico, ACCION San Diego and ACCION Texas – is the largest microlending network in the region. Since launching in 1991 in New York, the U.S. ACCION Network has made a total of 33,202 loans to 20,619 low- and moderate-income clients in the United States, totaling $250 million.
For more information on small business loans and ACCION USA, please visit www.accionusa.org.
*Small Business Bureau
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