Small Business Lender Expo

The New Mexico Veterans Business Outreach Center is teaming up with the nonprofit lender DreamSpring to help aspiring and existing business owners explore low-cost financing options. The Small Business Lender Expo takes place at the DreamSpring Albuquerque headquarters from 1:00 to 4:00 pm on Friday, October 9, 2026. While the event focuses on resources for veterans, non-veterans are welcome to attend.

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Resources Target Veterans in Business

The Loan Fund enabled Santa Fe Exclusive Auto Repair to move into a more spacious location to help grow the business.

Jose Ocampo moved to the United States from Nicaragua as a child in 1980 after his family was granted political asylum.

After a tour of duty in the U.S. Marine Corps and a few years at the University of New Mexico, he set his sights on being an auto mechanic and eventually opening his own shop. He graduated from the Universal Technical Institute in Phoenix and moved to Santa Fe to work in a friend’s auto repair shop until he was ready to go solo.

Having his own business “was just something I wanted to do,” Ocampo said. After reaching that milestone at the age of 24, his next goal was to buy his own building, which would increase the value of his business and give him a tangible asset he could sell in the future.

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