By ideastream's Brian Bull
Officials hope a $2 million micro-loan program using county money will spark economic growth in Cuyahoga County. The plan will build on a revitalization trend--- helping storefronts and neighborhoods.
Backers, including Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish – say small businesses provide the bulk of jobs in the region. Now an agreement between the county and the Economic and Community Development Institute (ECDI) provides loans to small business owners wanting to launch or expand their operation when other funding sources aren’t available.
Jonah Oryszak owns the soon to open Plum Café on Loraine Avenue. He’s just received $33,000 in ECDI money.
“First time business owner….it’s really hard to get banks to take you seriously," says Oryszak. "But I couldn’t have done any of this without ECDI. They sit you down and give you a list of everything you have to do to rehab your credit if you have to, or have someone write your business plan if you need it.”
Loan amounts will range from $10,000 to $100,000.
County Executive Armond Budish says the agreement helps entrepreneurs with modest – but important -- financial needs.
“Businesses to get started or to grow often don’t need a lot of money. They might need $25,000 or $50,000 dollars to get started or to add employees. Banks generally don’t want to give those small loans. It’s not worth it to them.”
Among those present at today's announcement at Toast wine bar in Cleveland was Ronn Richard, President of the Cleveland Foundation. He shared his own news that his board just approved $175,000 to further support ECDI’s lending operation.
“We’ve supported ECDI since 2011, with over $1.6 millon dollars in grant funds," says Richard. "And this latest grant reflects our continued confidence in ECDI and the businesses like Toast, that benefit from these really important microloans.”
Richard said roughly half of the ECDI recipients are minorities, and nearly 60 percent are women.
Cuyahoga County previously loaned ECDI $550,000 in 2013.