CALIFORNIA: You can trust that we maintain strict editorial integrity in our writing and assessments; however, we receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners and get approved. Here’s how we make money California entrepreneurs in low-income areas can tap into $10 million in small-business loans thanks to a new program by Opportunity Fund and Lending Club.
The two companies have partnered to make small-business loans available in “underserved areas” in California, helping roughly 400 businesses and creating about 1,000 jobs, they announced Monday. Opportunity Fund, a nonprofit small-business loans company, and Lending Club, a small-business lending platform, are in the process of identifying specific communities where the program will be focused Eric Weaver, Opportunity Fund’s founder and chief executive officer, says the initiative will be geared toward communities with a high proportion of low- and middle-income residents, such as neighborhoods in south and central Los Angeles and parts of Oakland.
“Our very mission is to advance the economic well-being of working people,” he tells NerdWallet.n a statement, Weaver called the program breakthrough collaboration.”“We’ve been lending in disadvantaged communities for 20 years,” Weaver said. “The plan for this partnership is to allow us to reach many more underserved businesses by developing a first-of-its-kind technology integration with Lending Club.”
