NEW: Local Microfinance Group Gets National Attention

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Tuesday, December 20, 2011

GoLocalProv Business Team

Local entrepreneur Andy Posner appeared Monday on CNN’s American Morning to talk about his leadership with nonprofit organization Campus Microfinance Alliance, a coalition of student-run groups who have lent more than $150,000 to underfunded small businesses.

Posner is best known for co-founding Capital Good Fund, headquartered in Providence.  “The Fund takes a unique approach to financial services, through using financial coaching to underwrite microloans of less than $5,000” Posner said.  This personal approach allows for the fund to establish relationships with borrowers whose credit rating represents a risk to traditional banking institutions. This personal touch has succeeded with only a 7% default rate, as opposed to about 20% in traditional banking.  More importantly, the Fund represents resources beyond capital, with financial coaching and free tax preparation helping low-income Rhode Islanders make the most of those loans.

Capital Good Fund was founded by Posner and Mollie West while both were students at Brown University in 2009. Two years later, the fund has 5 full-time employees, and plans to be a national presence by 2016. By giving residents and business-owners alike innovative tools to create and sustain jobs right here in Rhode Island, it is a welcome presence indeed.

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