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Sam Adams Issues Micro-Loans To Ohio Small Businesses

Ohio Small business entrepreneurs in the food industry now have a new place to turn to for loans.

The Boston Beer Company of Massachusetts marked the Ohio debut of its "Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream" micro-loan program Friday in Cincinnati.

The program offers loans from 500 to 25,000 dollars for almost any type of food, beverage or hospitality venture idea with a good business plan.

Sam Adams founder Jim Koch says he wants low and moderate income entrepreneurs to have access to needed funding. "A little business really is too small to apply for bank loans," he says. "Even the small business administration doesn't want to lend below 25000 dollars and that doesn't cover most of the small businesses in this country."

The company has issued around half a million dollars in small loans since 2008 to close to five dozen businesses in the New England area.