Left to
right: Seema Gohil, Grameen America, Inc.; Leslie Kane, Grameen America,
Inc.; Katy Brodsky, Grameen America, Inc.; Steven Vogel, Grameen
America, Inc.; Kenneth J. Knuckles, President & CEO, UMEZ; Hope
Knight, COO, UMEZ; and Latoya Cowan, Business Investments Loan Officer,
UMEZ.
HELP FOR SMALL ENTREPRENEURS
Umez teams with grameen America
to give micro-loans to
local entrepreneurs in Upper
manhattan
Today, Kenneth J. Knuckles, President & CEO of the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone
Development Corp. (UMEZ) announced that the organization had closed on a
$500,000 loan and a $125,000 grant to Grameen
America, Inc.
Grameen America, Inc., a
non-profit microfinance organization based in New York, was founded in 2008 by
Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. Its mission is to help alleviate
poverty through entrepreneurship by providing loans, saving programs, credit
establishment and other services to low-income individuals in the United
States.All loans support small business
activities including food carts, at-home catering businesses or salon services.
The UMEZ
loan and grant will be used to expand Grameen’s lending platform throughout
Upper Manhattan. Grameen America currently has a branch in northern Manhattan which
disbursed its first loan in March 2009.This
branch has grown to nearly 400 borrowers with a growth strategy to increase to
over 4,000 borrowers over the next 5 years.Grameen America’s microloans have a maximum first-time loan size of $1,500.
“For nearly fifteen years, UMEZ has
been lending much-needed financial and other assistance to new and existing
small businesses Upper Manhattan which we believe are the backbone of our
city’s neighborhoods,” said Mr. Knuckles. “That’s why we are pleased to provide
this funding to Grameen America which shares our goal of providing loans to
those businesses which are too often considered ‘unbankable’ by many of the
traditional commercial banks.”
Stephen Vogel, CEO
of Grameen America said, “We are grateful to have UMEZ as one of our funders in
Upper Manhattan.UMEZ’s support will
help Grameen America provide this much needed capital and financial education
to aspiring entrepreneurs to start their own business and create a better life
for their families.”
ABOUT UMEZ
UMEZ seeks to revitalize distressed
communities by using geographically targeted public funds and tax incentives as
catalysts for private investment. In Upper Manhattan, the communities that lie
within the Empowerment Zone's borders include Harlem, East Harlem,
Washington Heights and Inwood.
ABOUT GRAMEEN
AMERICA
Grameen America's mission is to provide affordable
microloans to financially empower low-income entrepreneurs. Since January
2008, Grameen America has loaned out over $11 million dollars in microloans to 4,500
low-income entrepreneurs. Started in Jackson Heights, Queens, Grameen
America has quickly expanded to Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Omaha, Nebraska.Our vision is to help create a world free of
poverty. We predict a market where anyindividual with a dream can receive
affordable financial products regardless of income, previous credit history,
education, or business experience. We envision a world where burgeoning
entrepreneurs are empowered to lift themselves out of poverty through hard
work and determination to forge better lives for their families and future
generations. (www.grameenamerica.org)
