Microlender Women’s Business Center Nets $100K to Help More KC Entrepreneurs

Microlender Women’s Business Center Nets $100K to Help More KC Entrepreneurs

Sometimes, access to opportunity is everything for an entrepreneur—especially when traditional funding channels aren’t an option.

That’s why Kansas City is home to a few loan opportunities for entrepreneurs who qualify … and one of the organizations just received some serious funding to help more Kansas City doers, innovators and makers build their businesses.

In a first of its kind transaction in Kansas City, Bank of Blue Valley, a partner of the OneKC for Women alliance, will buy loans and support the Women’s Business Center in Kansas City to help grow the organization’s microlending program, which has an emphasis on women-owned businesses.

[[CTA]]

The $100,000 investment helps the Women’s Business Center, which is also part of the OneKC for Women alliance, make new loans, ranging in size from $2,500 to $25,000, for entrepreneurs who need help reaching that next (or first) milestone.

“This community initiative will have real implications for nonprofit microlenders in our region and potentially across the country,” says Sherry Turner, founder of OneKC for Women. “Small businesses have challenges with access to capital, and together, we are moving the needle in a positive direction for the non-bankable.”

The partnership between Bank of Blue Valley and Women’s Business Center was made possible in part by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. To establish a secondary market for microloans in Kansas City, the Kauffman Foundation invested $1.2 million into KC in 2017, benefitting KCSourceLink Resource Partners, the Women’s Business Center, AltCap, Hispanic Economic Development Corp. and Justine PETERSEN

If you’d like to reach any of those organizations or if you’re looking for some other sort of funding or additional assistance, KCSourceLink can connect you to the right help, right when you need it (for free). Over 240 nonprofit organizations, like the Women’s Business Center, help entrepreneurs in KC, just like you, from inception to exit. Get your free Personal Action Plan, and we’ll outline your next steps at no cost.

Share this post

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *