Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | September 5, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 31 Roy Nascimento said. "But we don't mind taking on a little bit more risk because that's part of our mission. Typically, because they lack capital, they lack credit history, and, because it's a startup business, it's considered risky." To reach underserved entrepreneurs, the NCMDC works with chambers of commerce both in North Central Massachusetts and beyond and has links to local organizations like the Spanish-American Center in Leominster. It receives referrals from banks and credit unions to help with loans that the traditional financial institutions can't make. And it has staff who speak Spanish, Portuguese, and Hmong, who can help immigrant entrepreneurs. In 2021, the NCMDC made 84 microloans through the program, totaling $1.75 million, said Nascimento, with 60% of the entrepreneurs who received the loans being considered as from underserved groups, meaning people of color, women, immigrants, or people of low to moderate incomes. Among them was Connecting to Greatness. Aer the bank told her in 2020 she couldn't get a loan from them, Maxwell approached the chamber and received a $20,000 loan from NCMDC to open a new, larger office. Aer the pandemic struck, she was able to get support from business-assistance programs, helping the company to stay afloat amidst the uncertainty of the time and even expand. is year she received another $25,000 loan from NCMDC, this time for purchasing new equipment for virtual counseling and for hiring two more full-time clinicians. Helping businesses get loans Entrepreneurs of color in other parts of Central Massachusetts face similar barriers. Katia Norford, secretary of the board of directors at Main South Business Association in Worcester, said the majority of businesses in the neighborhood are small mom-and-pop operations owned by Black and Latino people. Many are too busy doing the work of the business to take care of all the paperwork and research needed to get financing. Norford herself is co-owner of Carlito's Barbershop, together with her husband, Carlos. She said she's fortunate that, when the couple was just starting the business, she was able to go back to college to get an associates degree in accounting. But, even so, the fact the business has historically operated mostly on a cash basis meant it was hard to provide all the documentation lenders need to make loans. Fortunately, MSBA is able to offer microloans, funded through a federal grant. Norford's business, along with six others in the neighborhood, received loans of up to $5,000 this year. For Carlito's, that meant money for a new air conditioner and two new chairs, as well as some help with rent, all at an excellent 2% interest rate. In her work with MSBA, Norford helps fellow business owners in her neighborhood learn best practices for things like accounting and taxes, which helps them qualify for loans and other financing. But she said she'd also like to see lenders show more understanding about the unique needs of small local businesses. "I really would like to see more help for the small businesses, when it comes especially to loans, to have a little more flexibility," she said. "Most of them have been there for years, and nobody is taking that into consideration." D I V E R S I T Y & I N C L U S I O N F O C U S W Percent of firms receiving all Paycheck Protection Program funds sought, by owner's race Non-Hispanic Black 13% Hispanic 20% Non-Hispanic Asian 31% Non-Hispanic White 40% Percentage of requested funds from the COVID- era federal Paycheck Protection Program loans that small firms actually received, by owner's race/ethnicity All Most Some None White 79% 11% 6% 4% Asian 68% 13% 15% 3% Latinx 61% 12% 19% 8% Black 43% 11% 26% 20% Source: Federal Reserve Banks Small Business Credit Survey, via "The Color of the Capital Gap" report, 2021 Katia Norford and her husband Carlos received a microloan from the Main South Business Association to support their business, Carlito's Barbershop. PHOTO/COURTESY OF KATIA NORFORD Roy Nascimento, CEO of the North Central Massachu- setts Chamber of Commerce

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