July 20, 2005
by Nadra Enzi
BlackBusinessList.Com Co-Owner

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Confessions of A Black (Sub)Micro Lender

Businesses and non-profits, like plants, need pollination, i.e., capital, i.e, MONEY to survive, let alone thrive.  Stick the adjective "Black" in front of the above and the needs magnify manifold.

Private lending is the lifeblood of many enterprises. No less than the Ebony magazine empire was begun by a private loan to its publisher from his mother. 

Black businesses and non-profits face severe lack of funding as a norm. Credit issues and simply not having a lot of resources combine to drive many of us out of business before we've even begun. 

Enter private lenders, those brothers and sisters with venture capital to spare (sometimes not) who lend it to worthwhile projects, after discussion, analysis and even tears. 

In keeping with my (sub)micro Black business theme, my private lending experience began small after an opportunity was offered by my attorney, who also has a real estate investment firm. 

From there a savings bond was purchased and, given the sub-micro status of accounts receivables, time passed until my pockets were again healthy. 

Divine Intervention arrived in summer of 2004, packaged as tragedy and provided me a once-in-a-lifetime chance to privately lend and network my (sub)microbusiness with organizations and events I'd been researching. 

I'm not a baller by any stretch of the imagination. But I do know that the future of Black business depends upon how active our private lending culture becomes. 

So far, a handful of unnamed groups and individuals have received private loans from yours truly. As a (sub)microbusiness person, I know too well the frustration of undercapitalization. So many of us have goods and services that the market will reward, but the means to do so is lacking. 

I recently used my now-enhanced banking relationship with my personal banker to ally her institution with a non-profit dedicated to assisting single Black mothers, in this case allowing the non-profit to purchase cars for their clients to seek higher payer jobs! 

Black private lending or internal investment exists independent of SBA budgets and spending priorities set outside our community. 

Consequently, it is our best bet for incubating tomorrow's Black businesses!

About Nadra Enzi 

The author is a LIfe member of the NAACP and the APEX Museum and has work on any search engine. SWS Results!, his firm, manages events and offers (sub)microloans on a limited basis. He is the founder of the Ms. Black Security online essay contest and Concerned Brothers of Savannah.  He also co-owns BlackBusinessList.Com

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