(The Miami Times)
Businesses in north Miami-Dade County can now increasingly turn to their community for funding. The Opa-locka Community Development Corporation will be loaning capital and mentoring entrepreneurship in Opa-locka, Liberty City and other under-resourced areas.
Recognizing the fact that lending institutions are more reluctant to fund small ventures and that many companies cannot reach high levels of growth because of the “capital gap” common between starting and scaling up, the OLCDC has secured a $1M grant from JPMorgan Chase to assist small businesses with increasing their borrowing power, so they develop and qualify for higher loans in the future.
Businesses need no specific criteria to apply aside from being based and serving the north side of the county. The non-profit community development corporation will back small established ventures as well as creative ideas that have been struggling to get off the ground. Willie Logan, the organization’s chief executive officer, said that if a project is agreed, lending terms will be tailored to each borrower.