Ahhh, Finally! Bed-Stuy Small Businesses Receive a Financial Lifeline

If the country's big banks and major corporations needed a trillion-dollar bailout, imagine what small business owners are experiencing.

Even after they were extended an olive branch to avoid total collapse, big banks are lending less in a much riskier environment. As a consequence, small businesses and entrepreneurs everywhere are hanging on a thread, in desperate need of a financial lifeline of their own.

Well, the lifeline is here. Bedford-Stuyvesant’s community of entrepreneurs, home-based businesses and established small businesses can now look forward to a little financial reprieve, thanks to a special new program assembled by the team at and CAMBA: They are offering one-on-one business and financial consultations and custom-tailored loans.

“We realize that in these recessive times, there are quite a lot of people in Bed-Stuy who have been laid off, who are in their mid-40s to early 60s range and who do not want to go back to corporate America. They have always had this zeal to do something from home, to start a business, but are not sure of what the best step is to do it,” said Kenneth Mbonu, director of economic development at Bridge Street Development Corporation.

“And also, there is a strong presence of the younger crowd in the entertainment, new media, information and communication technology sectors who are working from home. And they have clients all over the country, some of them international,” said Mbonu. “They might be looking for a  little funding to better market themselves or broaden their client scope.”

CAMBA and Bridge Street have enlisted a team of loan specialists who will meet with struggling business owners in an intimate and personal setting, at a café over a cup of coffee or tea to talk about their business profile and the needs of each individual owner.

They will then advise them on packaging themselves in a way that will prepare them to apply for a small loan, custom-tailored to their specific needs. CAMBA will even aid them in securing the loan by linking them with a partnering financial services company prepared to receive their referrals and issue to their clients loans that under other circumstances would be hard to secure.

“We know how challenging it is for small and developing business to get loans from different lending institutions, maybe because of their credit or other issues,” said Mbonu. “But CAMBA was able to come up with loans where there is less emphasis on that criteria and more interest in you as an individual and how far you want to go.”

The program will support the lesser-known business and new entrants into the business community. Its goal is to keep struggling businesses afloat, while keeping the dollars in Bed-Stuy, and as the companies grow, even get them into some of the empty office spaces in the community, Mbonu said.

The first sit-down meetings/financial workshop will be held on Thursday, October 27, at Common Grounds Coffee House, 376 Tompkins Avenue, from 6:00pm – 8:30pm.

If you cannot make the first meeting, a second sit-down meeting will be held the following Thursday, November 3, at Crave Bed-Stuy, 212 Patchen Avenue, from 6:00pm – 8:30pm.

Mark your calendars now, and spread the information. Interested participants need only bring their business plan (if available) and/or their vision for their business. For more information, contact Kenneth Mbonu at kmbonu@bsdcorp.org.

“You are stepping out of your home and walking a few blocks up the street to sit down with a loan or financial analyst who can set you on the right path,” said Mbonu. “People will be able to go in and eat, mix and mingle, build relationships and learn about these programs that CAMBA is offering.”

“Just come and let’s talk, and let us see how we can help.”