MONTGOMERY – Gov. Robert Bentley has announced a $400,000 grant to establish a loan fund focusing on small businesses in Appalachian Alabama.
The grants from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) will be used in a joint effort by Pathway Lending of Nashville and the Alabama Small Business Development Center Network to create a Community Development Financial Institution loan program available to businesses in Alabama’s 37 county ARC region.
Pathway is contributing $1.3 million to establish the fund and anticipates that it will originate $1.75 million in loans its first three years, supporting 30 new businesses and creating at least 105 new jobs. During this time, Pathway will raise $3 million in private capital to support the fund, Pathway officials said.
“By helping small businesses get established, we help create jobs and improve local economies,” Bentley said. “This new loan fund will give entrepreneurs in Appalachian Alabama access to the capital necessary for future success and increase the potential for more jobs for residents.”
“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. By helping small businesses grow and thrive, we directly strengthen our economy by creating jobs,” said Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Leah Bolin. “The Chamber’s Business Resource Center, a new resource for our members and the community, was created to provide assistance to entrepreneurial startups, existing small businesses, and in partnership with the City of Cullman’s Economic Development Agency, offer industrial innovational initiatives in the Cullman area by identifying and connecting individuals to counseling, training and resources. The additional capital for investment, provided through financial assistance such as this ARC grant, gives these individuals and businesses the capital funds needed to be successful.”
Alabama’s ARC counties include Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Clay, Cleburne, Colbert, Coosa, Cullman, DeKalb, Elmore, Etowah, Fayette, Franklin, Hale, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone, Macon, Madison, Marion, Marshall, Morgan, Pickens, Randolph, St. Clair, Shelby, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker and Winston.
Peggy Smith, director of the Cullman Economic Development Agency, said, “Economic development is fueled by funds from public and private entities. We are pleased to have additional grant funds for the ARC counties which can help assist small business development in Cullman.
“Small Businesses account for many of the jobs in this community and we look forward to learning more about the new loan funds available thru the State's business loan program. This is an exciting announcement and could be used for expanding a local program, the Cullman Area Chamber of Commerce’s new Business Resource Center.”
The ARC is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 420 counties, including 37 in Alabama, across the Appalachian Region. The agency’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) administers the ARC program in Alabama along with a wide range of other programs that support law enforcement, economic development, workforce development, recreation, energy conservation and water resource management.
“As I travel around Alabama, I see the tremendous impact that a small business can have particularly in rural areas where the creation of even a few jobs is tremendous news,” ADECA Director Jim Byard Jr. said. “I am pleased that our partnership with the ARC will help establish this fund to increase the amount of locally owned businesses and help create employment opportunities.”
