The City of Wichita announced the second round of the PROPEL (Providing Resources & Opportunities for Proprietors, Entrepreneurs & Lenders) Small Business Loan Fund today. The low-interest, short-term revolving loan program was initially developed to make access to capital more readily available to minority-owned and women-owned firms and businesses located in Wichita City Council District 1 last spring, using a portion of District 1's proceeds from the sale of the Hyatt hotel.
Funding of $220,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) money has been allocated to the revolving loan fund, along with a generous contribution from INTRUST Bank, to enable the PROPEL fund to extend participation to business owners throughout Wichita on an ongoing basis. The next round of PROPEL funding will accept applications now through Friday, March 18, 2022.
"Working with PROPEL has been a wonderful experience," says Hannah Thompson, whose Reel Photography, LLC studio located on Douglas across from East High was funded in the program's initial round. "This is my first time having a business loan and the process has been easy."
Business owners must meet a set of eligibility criteria and must apply for the program. There are also requirements that establish how the funds may be spent. Businesses that serve low to moderate persons and exist within low to moderate income census tracts can receive a PROPEL loan funded with CDBG. Business owners who qualify and are approved can receive up to $20 thousand dollars in loan funds at a 3% interest rate.
Loans must be repaid within 36 months. CML Collective, a minority-owned firm with experience creating and managing microloan programs, partnered with the City to help develop PROPEL. Other PROPEL partners include INTRUST Bank, Network Kansas, Fidelity Bank, the Wichita Community Foundation, the South Central Kansas Economic Development District, the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas and others.
More information can be found at
wichita.gov/propel.
