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ENTREPRENEURIAL PROGRAMS
After years of witnessing underserved entrepreneurs and residents of our local communities being severely impacted by rising rents, displacement, and an ever-widening economic gap, HCC launched Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund (HEF) in 2007, to help combat these inequalities. HEF’s mission is to serve low-income and minority populations by providing lending capital and technical assistance to facilitate small business expansion and job creation in underserved Harlem, Washington Heights, Inwood and Bronx communities. HEF became certified by the U.S. Department of Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in 2012..
LOAN PRODUCTS
HEF currently offers three loan products: Small Business Loan, COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Loan and Small Business Credit Builder Loan. The Small Business Loan aims to give small business owners, partic- ularly minority and women owned businesses, an alternative option to lower cost lending capital. The COVID-19 Small Business Recovery Loan was created to support hard-hit businesses in the community with capital. The Credit Builder Loan enables borrowers with low credit scores to access capital while working to improve their scores at the same time.
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS
HEF offers two business advisory programs: Growth Path, a business advisory program that connects BIPOC- and wom- en-owned businesses with mentors, and Opportunity for Growth, a cohort-based business education program based on Interise’s Streetwise MBA curriculum that supports entrepre- neurs with business knowledge, management know-how, and networks needed to grow their established small businesses.
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CELEBRATING 55 YEARS OF SERVICE