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PROGRAM SUCCESS – MAY 2010
WELLS FARGO ANNOUNCES $1 MILLION IN
FUNDING FOR LOW INCOME ENTREPRENEURS
San Francisco, CA - Wells Fargo, the
banking empire who recently purchased
Wachovia Bank, is investing $1 million into
Grameen America - a nonprofit
microfinance
organization that gives low
income entrepreneurs access to
EQ2
(Equity-Equivalents)
loans. They also help with
business credit establishment
and other financial services.
An EQ2 loan is a limited below
market rate loan reserved for
community
development
organizations and businesses. Grameen
America has provided nearly 3,000 of these
loans to entrepreneurs living below the
federal poverty line. They have loaned out
over $5 million in loan capital.
The high repayment rate of over 99% is a
testament to the program’s success. All loans are
provided in the peer-lending model and each loan
is spent on starting or expanding an
existing business.
Wells Fargo’s EQ2 investment will
help Grameen America launch its
operations in the San Francisco Bay
Area beginning this summer. Grameen
America currently has three branches
in New York City and a fourth in
Omaha,
Nebraska.
Additional
expansion plans include Charlotte,
Boston, and Washington, D.C.
Interested entrepreneurs should visit:
www.grameenamerica.com
For more business funding opportunities, visit:
www.businessgrants.org