Adelante Fund Marks Milestone of $1 Million in Small-Business Loans

Christopher Gil
Senior Content Marketing Manager
Mission Economic Development Agency
(415) 282-3334 ext. 152
cgil@medasf.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Feb. 27, 2017

Adelante Fund Marks Milestone of $1 Million in Small-Business Loans
MEDA providing loans primarily to immigrants denied access to capital by traditional lenders

San Francisco, Calif. — The Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA) has reached a major milestone, with $1 million in loans disbursed by its community-lending arm, Adelante Fund. Over 35 small-business owners looking to start of expand their ventures have now been given the capital to do so. Adelante Fund low-interest loans range from $5,000 to $100,000. While the focus is San Francisco’s Mission District, Adelante Fund serves the nine-county Bay Area.

Adelante Fund, now a CDFI, fosters community development, especially by newcomers to this country. Eighty-nine percent of loans disbursed have gone to immigrants, with 85 percent low- to moderate-income women. There has been a 0 percent default rate, which can be partly attributed to loans being paired with business technical assistance from MEDA.

Small businesses run the gamut, from brick-and-mortar restaurants and catering companies to home-based child care businesses and small trucking firms. Loans have been used for inventory, equipment, refurbishing commercial spaces and more.

MEDA’s Nathanial Owen, who launched the Adelante Fund, explains the need: “The majority of our loan recipients have either not been able to access any capital at traditional banks or have not been able to garner enough funds from such lenders. Adelante Fund meets a critical need, with family assets being created, along with jobs in the community.”

San Francisco’s immigrant community has already experienced hardship because of a quickly widening income disparity greater than anywhere else in the nation. With the recent political climate shift, the need to support immigrant communities is more important than ever. Adelante Fund is a powerful vehicle to provide such support and strengthen the immigrant community.

“There are many other aspiring entrepreneurs in the pipeline for an Adelante Fund loan. We are currently seeking $3 million in additional funds to lend over the next two years. MEDA is asking our local corporations, foundations and individual investors to support us growing this fund, as a means to help San Francisco’s immigrant community create income for their families, jobs for the community and diverse businesses that sustain the character of the neighborhoods we love, like the Mission,” states Owen.

A press conference, to mark the $1 million milestone, will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at El Buen Comer (an Adelante Fund recipient), 3435 Mission Street in San Francisco. Anyone interested in attending should RSVP to nowen@medasf.org no later than Feb. 27.

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About Adelante Fund
MEDA’s community loan fund – Adelante Fund – is a vehicle for MEDA to provide access to capital to small-business owners who cannot get a loan at a traditional bank.

About Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA)
Rooted in the Mission and focused on San Francisco, MEDA’s mission is to strengthen low- and moderate-income Latino families by promoting economic equity and social justice through asset building and community development. 
medasf.org

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