The Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone offers loans to qualified existing and start-up businesses in Upper Manhattan. We are different from traditional bank lenders in three important ways. First, we do not focus exclusively on credit scores. Second, we fund start-up businesses. Third, we have flexible collateral requirements.  

Instead, we seek to invest in projects that generally meet the following criteria:

• Businesses that are, or will be expanding, within Upper Manhattan
• Businesses that can be sustainable and generate positive cash flow
• Businesses with experienced management teams
• Projects with meaningful equity investment from their owner(s)
• Projects that create significant community impact (e.g., jobs, services)