$3 Million in Microloans Available to Detroit Small Business Owners Through CEED and City of Detroit; Microloans Can Lead to Big Business for Minority- and/or Women-Owned Businesses

DETROIT--May 30, 2006--According to the Center for Women's Business Research in Washington, D.C., African-American women in Detroit are starting businesses at a faster rate than anywhere in the country. To help these business owners and all other minority- and/or woman-owned businesses in the City of Detroit, the Center for Empowerment and Economic Development (CEED), a 22-year old nonprofit, is providing $3 million of microloans to small businesses having trouble obtaining financing from conventional sources. CEED recently joined forces with the City of Detroit Mayor's office on Neighborhood and Commercial Revitalization and Wayne County Community College District's (WCCCD) Entrepreneurial Institute to provide loans ranging from $5,000 to $35,000.

As one of the first microlenders in the country since 1984, CEED has helped microborrowers grow into very visible businesses, such as Brenda Moore, owner of Perk & Brew, Inc., who is today one of a small number of African-American woman who roasts coffee as a business. This former Detroit policewoman and single mother of two daughters acquired a $10,000 microloan from CEED some 13 years ago. Today, her coffee is carried in Kroger stores and other national chains. She is constructing her own building, and is a well-respected businesswoman in the Detroit metropolitan area. CEED's $3 million commitment to Detroit can similarly impact some 300 businesses.

"Brenda wanted to start a company and create a better life for her family. We felt she had what it took to succeed," said Anita Hernandez-Mergener, president of CEED's board of directors. "For this new microloan program, we seek businesses at the mainstreet level - the small, locally-owned businesses, opened by the owners with their own key every morning, fulfilling their dream, some having invested retirement funds to ensure their children's future," said Hernandez-Mergener. "With the economic shift in the Detroit area, it is more important now than ever that we support residents in starting businesses."

Many small businesses know the difficulty of obtaining financing from conventional sources, due to lack of capital, no credit, and insufficient collateral. While entrepreneurs, especially women and minorities, may demonstrate the ability to operate successfully, their lack of access to traditional financing requires alternative sources of financing. Thus, CEED's microloan program will remove these barriers and provide access to needed funds.

Microloan monies acquired from CEED can be used towards the start-up of a business as well as to expand a company. Specifically, these financial resources can be utilized towards equipment, inventory, supplies as well as some working capital. The program operates from WCCCD's Eastern campus Entrepreneurial Institute in Detroit.

CEED's 22 years of experience in supporting women- and minority-owned businesses with programming, resources and microloans enables them to now hit the ground running to impact the Detroit community with this new program without a learning curve. In addition to microloans, the program will offer entrepreneurs courses on business training and professional development.

"At CEED, we have worked with every type of conceivable business. We connect them with the appropriate resources, other business owners, and provide mentorship and guidance," said Hernandez-Mergener. "We provide the tools and resources to build a thriving local community with money being just one of the resources. We mentor, train, and build networks of small business owners at a neighborhood level, all to help businesses thrive and grow through community support."

Detroit Businesses Are Forming

According to the 1997 Census, the minority-owned firms comprised 47.3%, and Detroit-based firms and women-owned firms comprised 30.6%.

Only five years later, the Center for Women's Business Research (CWBR) estimates that as of 2002, 16,055 women-owned firms operate in Detroit. The numbers of these firms grew by 39% from 1997 to 2002, which is 3 1/2 times the growth rate of all employer firms in the metropolitan area (which is 11%).

Furthermore, African American women in the Detroit area are starting businesses at a faster rate than African American women elsewhere in the country.

To Apply For A CEED MicroLoan

Start-up business applicants must attend a loan orientation and contact the Detroit CEED office to register, at (313) 267-1020. Existing business applicants may attend a loan orientation or access application materials from www.miceed.org.

For more information, call CEED at 313 267.1020. The partnership is located at WCCCD's Eastern campus Entrepreneurial Institute, located at 5901 Conner, Detroit, Michigan.

To arrange interviews and photography, please call Anahid Lisa Derbabian at 248 202.0583.