A participation loan allows a bank to transfer some of its risk to a third party, thereby either enabling the bank to make a loan it might not otherwise make or to provide better terms than it could offer on its own. Participating entities include government agencies such as the SBA and USDA, which purchase part of the loan. Participation loans are initiated by the bank, and each participation program has its own rules.
Author Archives: Taura Costidis
Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI)
A lender with a mission to promote economic development by making financial resources affordable and accessible to neglected or underserved communities. Such resources may include consulting and technical assistance services that help entrepreneurs and small business owners plan for starting, growing, and maintaining their businesses. DreamSpring, Homewise, LiftFund, RCAC, The Loan Fund, and WESST are nonprofit CDFIs active in New Mexico. Clearinghouse CDFI, a for-profit entity, is also a CDFI.
Expert Advice as Precious as Cash for New Businesses
By Matt Loehman, The Loan Fund
Starting a business takes guts, but it also takes money. Obtaining that startup capital is one of the biggest challenges facing aspiring entrepreneurs.
Some may find it easy to secure credit: They’re typically the ones with good collateral, a high credit score and a fully developed business plan. But that’s not the case for many small business owners in New Mexico who find it challenging to access credit through traditional sources.
Small business owners who do have difficulty accessing credit from traditional lending sources can contact a community development lender, which is typically more than just a place to go when the banks say “no”. Continue reading
Digital Book Publisher One of Nine Venture Acceleration Fund Award Recipients
By Kurt Steinhaus, director of the Community Programs Office at Los Alamos National Laboratory
Customizabooks, a digital publisher of children’s books, is one of nine New Mexico businesses to receive a total of $340,000 in Venture Acceleration Fund awards from Los Alamos National Security LLC and Los Alamos County.
The Rio Rancho company plans to use its $50,000 award to expand distribution channels for its digital book applications, which create electronic books and convert existing books into digital content that’s accessible on all major mobile platforms, according to founder Tom Anderson, who manages the company with his brother, Bill.
The money also will help the Andersons finish developing their latest product, the Blackfish Story Creator, which allows people to create and share their own digital stories.
What makes Customizabooks different than other e-books, Anderson said, is its high level of interactivity, functionality and customization Continue reading
Coworkers by Choice: Shared Workspaces Draw Solo Entrepreneurs
By Finance New Mexico
The dramatic increase in freelancers, especially technology industry soloists, is driving a new trend called “coworking” — the sharing of workspace on the basis of a desire for community that its proponents see as a basic human need.
“Never before have we been so isolated,” Convivium Coworking’s Deborah Reese said of the growing army of solo entrepreneurs and self-employed people who populate the U.S. work force — either because the recession undermined their faith in working for others or because the internet and other mobile technology freed them to work anywhere they wanted.
The BioScience Center
The BioScience Center is a 19,500 sq-ft building in Uptown Albuquerque that contains offices, eight wet (chemistry and microbiology) laboratories Continue reading
Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation
Seeking to promote business growth and sustainable job retention in Northern New Mexico, the Los Alamos Commerce and Development Corporation Continue reading
Software as a Service (SaaS)
A software distribution model, Software as a Service (SaaS) makes software and applications (“apps”) that are hosted by a vendor or service provider available to customers over a network (like the Internet). SaaS apps are subscription services such as Zoom but they also include technology relevant to specific industries. The benefits of SaaS include compatibility, global accessibility, and easier administration and collaboration.
Access to Capital Unites State’s Entrepreneurs
By Russ Cummins, executive director, New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation
On the surface, Albuquerque’s Clínica la Esperanza, a medical clinic, has little in common with Desert Aire Copy & Fax Services, a convenience store and copy center that serves residents of the isolated border colonia of Chaparral. And it apparently has nothing in common with SSC Construction, a Native American-owned construction company based in San Felipe Pueblo that builds homes on tribal lands throughout New Mexico.
Yet all of these businesses got an early boost with loan funds that originated with the New Mexico Small Business Investment Corporation (NMSBIC) and were channeled through its network of lenders.
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