Page 5 - 201904G20Entrepreneurship Newsletter

US：SBA Supports Female Startups Through Nonprofit Financial Organization

US small business administration and ACE (Access to Capital for
Entrepreneurs) collaborate to support female, minority and low-
income entrepreneurs through education and training in financing-
related fields.

ACE, as a nonprofit community lender, specializes in small-
business loans coupled with business advisory services, provides
more financing opportunities for female entrepreneurs through a
cooperation agreement with the Small Business Administration.
In 2018, ACE distributed $4.7 million to female entrepreneurs and
small entrepreneurs. Loan funds increased by 24% over the previous
year. The ACE Women’s Business Center (WBC) provides a full
range of services for women entrepreneurs at all stages of planning,
implementation, and growth. Services are offered in English and
Spanish.

Argentina Launched Mexican Sofomes Grant Flexible Financing to SMEs
New Projects to
Finance SMEs
There are roughly 2,900 multi-purpose financial entities, known as Sofomes, in Mexico, which
work as an important financing resource to most of SMEs. And the Association of Sofomes
Argentina’s SMEs and Start-ups
departments have joined efforts with (Asofom) is a non-bank financial institution. Since its inception in 2006, it has been committed
to promoting the development of SMEs and influencing the economic development of Mexico.
provincial and municipal public banks to At present, Sofomes grants 60% of its credits to small and medium-sized enterprises. In
announce new projects for financing SMEs. Mexico, this is a field that traditional banks do not cover. According to statistics from the
The project, which is co-organized by 12 Mexican SME sector, 100% of large companies can get financing, but less than 40% of
national banks to fund the operations of medium-sized companies, 30% of small businesses and less than 10% of micro-enterprises
SMEs, provides annual fixed-rate loans to can get financing through the traditional ways.
SMEs for a total of $2.6 billion. Argentina is Sofomes have become the first choice for SME financing, because the economic strength
now facing a currency crisis, so the project of enterprises will not be considered as the standard of credits in the process. Sofomes can
will help ease the financial pressure on solve the financial problems of SMEs within two weeks, which greatly improves the flexibility
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SMEs during periods of economic stress. of business funds, while the application process of traditional institutions will take 6 months
Another measure to ease financial burden or 8 months. Sofomes will provide financial advice to SMEs’ owners to solve their general
is loan assistance from the Argentine lack in financial knowledge. According to relevant data, 60% of Mexican SMEs obtained the
Investment and Foreign Trade Bank (BICE). first loan from Sofomes.
The bank provided a total of $2.165 billion in
credit assistance to SMEs and value chains
in the first two months of this year through
factoring tools. The factoring tool provides
various services, for example, SMEs
can get discounts through public works
vouchers, and transactions between private
companies can be deferred or prepaid. It
is considered as a key tool for flexibility of
business capital and strengthening the
company's payment chain.