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V O L . X X V I I I N O. X M AY 1 6 , 2 0 2 2 18 S M A L L B U S I N E S S F O C U S and can be mitigated, the bank can have further and deeper engagement with the immigrant community." As a starting point, the Indus Fund teamed with cPort Credit Union, where immigrants make up just over 10% of its 100 employees. Including the loan for Burundi Star Coffee, cPort has made eight loans so far backed by the Indus Fund, according to Honorine Uwishema, the Rwanda-born manager of the credit union's Forest Avenue branch in Portland. Loans of up to $10,000 are available to first- generation immigrants to get a new business off the ground or support an existing one. Uwishema says that while cPort membership isn't a requirement to get a loan, some recipients have joined the credit union. Her message to potential applicants: "Don't be afraid to come to us for help, we'll work with you and are here to help." Even before the Indus Fund was created, cPort had a microfinance small business loan program that pro- vided more than $400,000 to immi- grants, usually in amounts averaging below $10,000 but with rates adjusted for term and credit. e credit union also helps foreign- born members fund their path to U.S. citizenship, a process that can cost as much as $8,000, through a Citizenship Loan Product created at the request of Alain Nahimana, a Burundi native who founded the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center and served as executive director until his death in May 2020. e average size of citizen- ship loans is around $3,400, with interest rates starting at 5.5%. "Our microfinance loan program complements the Indus Fund should the New Mainer business owner want additional funding beyond the Indus Fund limit," says Gene Ardito, cPort's president and CEO. Besides helping with an immediate financial need, the loans help immigrant borrowers establish a credit history with multiple other benefits, like the ability to get a home mortgage or car loan. Loan recipients are also offered support through a mentorship program developed with Maine's Department of Economic and Community Development, using SCORE Maine's mentor pool. "While we believe that all people and businesses can benefit from a mentor/mentee relationship, it can be especially important for folks who are navigating a new culture, banking system, and/or business commu- nity," says Wendy Blackwell-Moore, a Portland-based consultant on the Indus Fund's governance committee. Growth ambitions Besides Burundi Star Coffee, other Indus Fund loan recipients include Mimie Mobesha, a native of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to buy products including dried catfish from Africa as well as fresh fish and to sell at Mimio's Boutique, at 25 Portland St. in Portland. e small grocery store is frequented by fellow immigrants using General Assistance vouchers and food stamps. It's just her and her father run- ning the store, which is next to a com- bination hair-braiding beauty shop and clothing store she opened in 2021. While the pandemic was tough on business, she hopes to eventually expand both ventures, saying, "By the grace of God, I will try to have some- thing bigger." At 621 Forest Ave. in Portland's Woodfords Corner neighborhood, Niky Watler, originally from Cartagena, Colombia, and his wife Martha Leonard, originally from New Hampshire, own and operate Maíz, a restaurant specializ- ing in Colombian street food. ey met in Colombia, where she was teaching and he was working as a lawyer. ey say they became cPort members after moving to Maine because they were leery of traditional banks and lacked a credit history. ey used the $10,000 Indus Fund loan to defray the cost of a $35,000 food truck. at helped them explore other markets for their Colombian street food concept during the pandemic, including Brunswick, where they were about to open a second brick-and-mortar loca- tion by mid-May about twice the size of their Portland eatery. "I don't think we would have done the food truck if we didn't access the loan," Leonard says, "because you can build a business and main- tain it, but it's very hard to expand if you don't have a little bit of an extra cushion." She says she hopes the new Business Property and Liability Insurance Products Cyber and Data Breach Liability Insurance Employment Practices Liability Insurance, EPLI & Equipment and Mechanical Breakdown INSURING MAINE BUSINESS — INSURING MAINE PEOPLE We've been in business more than 140 years, and continue to innovate by providing you a portfolio that offers the kind of protection your business needs — today. Visit Patrons.com to find an independent agent near you. INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR TODAY'S BUSINESS CHALLENGES. » C O N T I N U E D F RO M P R E V I O U S PA G E You can build a business and maintain it, but it's very hard to expand if you don't have a little bit of an extra cushion. — Martha Leonard Maíz

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