Carolina Community Impact Helps 26 Businesses Receive Over $150,000 in 0% Interest Loans

Carolina Community Impact (CCI), a North Carolina-based Community development financial institution, has just recorded its 26th small business loan made through its crowdsourced lending model. CCI’s Central Carolina KivaHub program, which uses the international Kiva crowdsourced microloan model, launched in 2022 and, within a year, has successfully lent $154,000 in loans to small business owners.CCI’s Central Carolina KivaHub launched as an alternative lending solution for CCI’s demographic base. CCI offers non-banked small business loans up to $250,000 to small business owners who can provide a business plan with proof of concept, in addition to providing financial documentation and showing creditworthiness. Most of these loans are funded within two weeks of successfully submitting an application and establishing a relationship with CCI’s business counselors.

However, the Central Carolina KivaHub has a less traditional approach to lending, which includes helping small business borrowers with various types of businesses in various stages and with credit scores as low as 600. Of the 26 Central Carolina KivaHub borrowers, 77% were woman-owned businesses, 88% were Black and Hispanic borrowers, 33% had credit scores of 600 or lower, and 33% were start-up businesses.

Small business owner Mel Wright owns The Wright Village, a woman-owned co-working space in Raleigh, NC. “I heard about the Kiva loan through my SBTDC counselor, and she told me one of her clients got his Kiva loan and was excited about it. So I thought that maybe I should look into it,” Melanie Wright explains. After connecting with CCI, she raised $3,500 in ten days using CCI’s Central Kiva Hub. That money allowed her to expand her physical office space and offer more small business resources to the 20 entrepreneurs who utilize the co-working space to grow their businesses.

“Our mission at CCI is to bring economic opportunities to underserved communities in North Carolina. We are very proud that our Kiva Hub has successfully connected entrepreneurs and small business owners with loan capital,” Mike Croxson, CEO of CCI states. “We believe this shows that local, national, and international borrowers are willing to lend to NC borrowers using the Kiva model with loans available at 0%. We look forward to expanding the Kiva Hub and reaching other parts of the state.”

CCI will continue offering traditional and Kiva-based small business loans and small business coaching and mentoring to underserved entrepreneurs throughout North Carolina. Counseling services typically include business and personal credit reviews, business plan critiques, and assistance with financial statements.

About CCI: Carolina Community Impact, Inc. (CCI) is a nonprofit organization that promotes economic and community development by providing loans and financial services for low and moderate-income individuals and small businesses in North Carolina. For more information, please visit www.ccifund.org.