Loan & Microloan Opportunities

This list of alternative lenders provide micro lending options to women and minority entrepreneurs who have difficulty accessing capital from traditional banks in the DC Metro Region and nationally. 

Accion Opportunity Fund with support from American Express are providing small business loans ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 with interest rates as low as 5.99% depending on financial standing and credit. Applications are submitted online, visit  https://progress.aofund.org/ to learn more. 

Empowering Women International (a program of LEDC) Women’s Small Business Fund will provide 0% interest loans of up to $2500 for businesses within operation for at least 1 year and 51% or more owned by a woman. Businesses must be located in the Washington DMV metro area or Puerto Rico. For more information visit, Women’s Small Business Fund.

 Ethiopian Community Development Council Enterprise Development Group provides small business and micro loans to low and moderate income entrepreneurs in DC, Maryland and Virginia ranging from $500 to $50,000. Repayment may last up to 5 years.

Washington Area Community Reinvestment Fund provides small business loans with flexible repayment options to small businesses in DC, Maryland and Virginia ranging between $5,000 to $150,000.

Latino Economic Development Center provides a range of lending products to eligible start-ups and small businesses in the D.C region ranging from $500 to $250,000. The LEDC CREDIFIRST loan is designed to help entrepreneurs improve their credit scores and the Retail Ready Loan program provides businesses loans to D.C. region Makers.

Life Asset provides microloans ranging from $250 to $1500 and a credit building product for entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses in the DC metro region. Additional and larger loans can be approved, check their website to learn more.

City First Enterprises offers a small business term loan product between $20,000 and $500,000 to established businesses in the DC and Baltimore Metro Areas.  The product offers terms up to 48 months with interest rates ranging from 6% to 10%.  The funds can be used for working capital, inventory, equipment, and business expansion.

For more information check the link below:
Small Business Term Loan

The Hilltop MicroFinance Initiative aims to empower entrepreneurs in the DC area who might be excluded from commercial lending by providing affordable access to capital through small business loans. For more information check the link below:
The Hilltop MicroFinance Initiative

SBA’s list of funding sources is for small businesses that still need to access capital and have been impacted by the COVID19 pandemic. Small businesses and entrepreneurs can locate funding by entering a ZIP code. You can access this free resource, here.

Washington DC Rebuild Bond Program will provide small businesses the opportunity to raise capital from their community. Small businesses can apply for Small Business Bonds™ with no origination fees and have access to a free marketing boost. All businesses are encouraged to apply.  

 Capital Impact Partners is a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides access to capital by partnering with social and forward-thinking entrepreneurs for projects in underinvested areas that are often overlooked by traditional banks. To learn more visit https://www.capitalimpact.org/ 

 Eats Place’s is a Community Development Financial Institution(CDFI) and food incubator whose mission is to provide loans, venture capital and technical assistance to underestimated farm and food entrepreneurs. 

Halcyon Microloan Fund, created in partnership with the Kimsey Foundation, will support social entrepreneurs looking for alternatives to traditional funding avenues like bank loans or friends and family rounds. Through the fund, Halcyon ventures local to D.C. can apply for loans up to $10,000.