- Major CDFI and human resources software company announce partnership
- Gusto customers seeking vetted referral can now connect directly with the Accion Opportunity Fund to apply for a small business loan
- The fund offers small loans and seeks to advance financial equity and inclusion in small business lending
Summary by Dirk Langeveld
A major community development financial institution has announced an alliance with a human resources software company to help ease small businesses’ access to credit.
The Accion Opportunity Fund, which describes itself as the “nation’s leading nonprofit CDFI,” has created a referral partnership with Gusto, a full service payroll, benefits, and human resources company. The agreement means that Gusto customers looking for a vetted referral for funding can connect directly with Accion to apply for a small business loan.
“Accion Opportunity Fund and Gusto share a deep commitment to serving the needs of small businesses and advocating to improve the regulatory environment to best support the nation’s smallest businesses,” said Luz Urrutia, CEO of the Accion Opportunity Fund. “What began as an on-the-fly partnership at the start of the pandemic to connect Gusto customers with funding and support through Accion Opportunity Fund is now a long-term partnership that helps us pursue our mission to advance financial equity and inclusion in the U.S. for small businesses, especially women, immigrants and entrepreneurs of color.”
Accion offers loans of $5,000 to $10,000 with loans of 12 to 60 months, interest rates as low as 5.99 percent, and no prepayment penalties. The fund also helped more than 2,100 small businesses secure $34.5 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans, averaging $16,000 in size.
