Grameen America Expanding to Bridgeport, Hartford to Help Women Entrepreneurs
The following coverage is an excerpt from an April 1st WTNH News 8 broadcast
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) — Grameen America, a nonprofit that helps women entrepreneurs start their own businesses, announced Friday it will expand to Bridgeport and Hartford by the end of the year. It is already serving women in New Haven.
“Access to capital and the ability to be financially included is a basic human right for all genders, for all races,” said Andrea Jung, president and COO of Grameen America.
According to Governor Ned Lamont, who was present for the announcement, the microlending program is designed to provide access to loan capital, training and support for women entrepreneurs living at or below the federal poverty level, who are primarily women of color living in financially underserved communities.
“Then we at the state government can provide the next level of support as they… if they continue to grow and succeed,” Lamont said.
Grameen told News 8 in the New Haven area, 372 women entrepreneurs were served since July 2021. A total of $826,000 was invested and 407 microloans have been issued.
“Every bank that I tried to get a loan, they denied me and I left my business twice and because of this group, it helped me build myself and showed my boys that they could do anything,” said Jennifer Lopez, who opened Jenna Line Customs, her patternmaking business.
Since its founding in 2008, the nonprofit has invested more than $2.3 billion in women entrepreneurs.
“The average loan size is less than $5,000 so it is a lot of loans,” Jung said.
Support from the state is given through Connecticut’s small business loans and programs. The state also has an equity match grant program which provides grants of up to $10,000 to women-owned businesses that want to expand or just need help with operational costs.
That is how the Norwich Fitness Center went from 5,000 to more than 40,000 square feet.
The Grameen microloans come due in six months and the women pay them back weekly.
“Incredibly, these women have paid us back at 99.8 percent repayment,” Jung said.
Success is credited to the loyalty the women have to Grameen, which helped them when no one else would.