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Q&A
New York City Small Business Opportunity Fund overview and future plans
1:34:51
ยท
151 sec
Commissioner Gross provides an overview of the New York City Small Business Opportunity Fund and discusses future plans for small business financing.
- The Opportunity Fund operated from early 2023 to January 2024, distributing $85 million in loans to 1,000 small businesses.
- Mayor Adams has committed an additional $10 million in city tax levy dollars to support a new loan fund called the New York Future Fund.
- The New York Future Fund will incorporate learnings from the Opportunity Fund and introduce a revenue-based financing model to CDFIs in New York City.
- The new fund is expected to launch in 2025 and aims to reduce barriers for small businesses by eliminating minimum credit scores and application fees.
Oswald Feliz
1:34:51
Okay moving on to the New York City Small Business Opportunity Fund.
1:34:54
As we know the opportunity fund is designed to help small business owners offering public private loans directed at small business owners.
1:35:05
How many businesses have been served by the Small Business Opportunity Fund?
1:35:09
Can you explain how the fund works?
1:35:12
Have there been any discussions about expanding the program?
1:35:15
And also what criteria are used in providing these funds?
Dynishal Gross
1:35:21
Thank you, chair Felice.
1:35:22
We up we launched the opportunity fund, I believe, in early twenty twenty three, and the program operated throughout that year and closed in January of twenty twenty four.
1:35:35
In that period we distribute a total of $85,000,000 in loans and served 1,000 small businesses through the program.
1:35:48
We since that program has closed, Mayor Adams has committed an additional $10,000,000 in city tax levy dollars to support SBS's development of a new loan fund.
1:36:01
We're calling that the New York Future Fund.
1:36:04
We announced that at last year's small business expo and that program will incorporate all of the learnings from the opportunity fund and build on them.
1:36:15
The goal is to bring a revenue based of financing model to CDFIs in New York City which is new technology and really is innovation for our CDFI partners and so we're looking forward to launching that in 2025.
1:36:36
So not a continuation of the opportunity fund but a new fund with all of the learnings from the app informed by all of the learnings from the opportunity fund.
1:36:46
And in terms of eligibility, applicants can demonstrate their ability to repay these loans in a number of ways.
1:36:54
We worked hard to eliminate minimum credit scores in the opportunity fund and eliminated application fees to reduce small business barriers to participation in the fund, and we are working to develop an impact report about the opportunity fund which will be available, late in this fiscal year and we'll be happy to share that with the committee.
1:37:16
Alright.
1:37:17
Sounds good.
1:37:18
So final question for SBS.
1:37:21
I'll end with
Oswald Feliz
1:37:22
the same question that I asked at the beginning.