Clinton-backed lending platform launches beta testing

Do not invest more money than you can afford to lose.

SourceFunding.org, a lending platform developed by the Global Social Enterprise Institute (GSEI) and entrepreneur Michael Short and backed by the Clinton Global Initiative, announced it is inviting participants in its beta testing phase. The platform has also been highlighted at the 2016 State of Women Summit hosted by the White House.

The platform is using a proprietary application and matchmaking software to connect individuals, businesses and organizations with a national network of partner community banks, credit unions and economic development organizations.

SourceFunding will generally serve small businesses and “non-traditional entrepreneurs” still struggle to get access to low-cost capital along with real-time technical assistance.

The platform is mostly intended for the underserved communities like the Asian, Latino and African-American who are three times more likely to start their own business, but are much less likely to obtain a loan from a bank. According to the platform, women in particular face significant challenges, as they received only four per cent of the small business capital loaned in the US last year.

So far a regional pilot of SourceFnding has lent $10 million to various initiatives for urban revitalization, green infrastructure, educational programs in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) for disadvantaged youth and small business development.

The goal of the platform is to have an economic impact of nearly $1 billion dollars over five years in underserved communities throughout the US.