SBA Emerging 200 helping inner-city small businesses

8/3/2011

The U.S. Small Business Administration backs commercial loans for all types of small businesses, from in-home startups to growing manufacturers. The SBA Emerging 200 initiative selects inner-city companies to recognize their prospective growth and helps to provide the resources they need to continue succeeding.

Ruhel Islam, a Bangladeshi immigrant working in Minneapolis, has been selected as a member of the program, the Twin Cities Daily Planet reports. His restaurant, Gandhi Mahal, is doing well, and he's appreciative of the recognition.

"Everybody wants to come here and achieve their dreams," Ruhel told the paper when speaking of moving to the U.S. "Power comes through being a part of something larger."

The benefits to business owners of being part of the Emerging 200 program include mentoring, business strategizing and networking through workshops and community connections. As the SBA works with private lenders to help small businesses realize the funding they need to get started or expand, the initiative also helps member entrepreneurs through the commercial loan process.

Small businesses in economically challenged areas, such as large urban areas like Detroit and New Orleans, are the primary focus of the initiative.