Hidden Houston
Business talk: Accion Texas nurtures non-bankable small business entrepreneurs
Long gone are the days of easy credit, flexible lending guidelines and free-for-all finance products. Nowadays business owners have to fulfill strict criteria prior to being regarded as bankable by many funding institutions.
With credit scores lagging due to economic difficulties, potential entrepreneurs may not be able to reach their full potential. In Houston, one group is trying to change that.
Accion Texas is a nonprofit organization which strives to help those who cannot get a traditional loan gain access to capital, from $500 up to $250,000. As a Community Development Financial Institution, its mission is to revitalize neighborhoods, create jobs, stabilize businesses and encourage economic growth.
"We are the difference between getting that dream started today and having to wait before they can accumulate those funds."
"We are sometimes their last resort," Shirley Brooks, Vice President of Accion Texas, says. "We are the difference between getting that dream started today and having to wait before they can accumulate those funds either through savings or raising those dollars from families or friends, or even going the more expensive way, starting a business on credit card debt."
In this video interview, meet Brooks and learn about the various initiatives Accion Texas oversees to help borrowers fulfill their own dreams and become proficient on financial literacy on their way to financial freedom.
Click on the photo above or here to watch the Houston's Voice video segment, produced by American Business TV and hosted by John Cruise.
Editor's note: Hidden Houston is interactive multimedia series that aims to reveal the many things that are unique about the Bayou City and its surrounding areas.
