Funding small business growth was the hot topic at the Bridgeport Business Showcase Sept. 20 held at Webster Bank Arena.
“A lot of businesses have been coasting the last couple years,” said Sarah Belanger, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) program assistant. “Now that they”™re starting to come up and business has been stabilized, they”™re thinking about growth.”
Hosted by the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and five surrounding chambers of commerce, the showcase had more than 2,000 business leaders in attendance across 200 industries. The daylong event held more than 30 workshops focused on sales, marketing, technology and management. More than 70 businesses held open booths on the arena floor.
Manning the SBDC booth, Belanger said the top concern among visiting businesses was finding funding. Interest in applying for a loan or grant through Connecticut”™s Small Business Express (EXP) program has been high, Belanger said. The program doled out roughly $100 million in loans and grants in the first half of 2012.
Working in collaboration with the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Connecticut State University system, SBDC offers free counseling, seminars, technical assistance and education for businesses looking to start up or grow. Last year the group established a new office at the Bridgeport City Hall Annex. SBDC”™s main objective for attending the showcase was raising awareness about courses offered at their Bridgeport facility and the EXP program.
Offering other routes for funding, HEDCO Inc., a nonprofit community development financial institution, also has been busy helping businesses expand.
While banks and financial institutions have scaled back on small business loans, HEDCO has increased. Before 2008, the group administered an average of 80 loans per year, totaling to $4 million. Last year the company administered $6 million across 120 loans. The group is on track to meet and possibly surpass that amount this year, said Fernando Rosa, HEDCO deputy executive director.
Through private organizations, foundations, city funds and state programs such as EXP, the nonprofit has been able to invest in businesses that would have been deemed risky by other financial institutions, either because of poor credit and cash flow or lack of collateral.
“Instead of putting businesses in a box, I try to expand the box,” Rosa said, noting his loans have flexible terms.
HEDCO services businesses statewide, but a major source of funds comes from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, which only goes to business in Hartford. In the future Rosa said he”™d like to work with other regional foundations on establishing similar programs.
“There”™s a lot of displaced people out there,” said Lisa Powell, SBA business development specialist. “We”™re asking people to think about what their dreams are.”
If a small business needs a credit enhancement for a loan, the SBA backs small business loans with financial institutions for 70 to 85 percent of the loan amount to mitigate the bank”™s risk. In 2011, after Obama signed the Small Business Jobs Act in 2010 to give more funding for SBA loans, the Connecticut SBA office increased the number of loans its backs by 20 percent compared to 2009.
“Small businesses are the backbone of America,” Powell said. “It keeps the state”™s economy thriving.”
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