Small Business Finance News
South Carolina Small Businesses Try Lender Speed Dating To Find Loans
Written by Jenna Weiner
Published: 9/5/2011
In South Carolina, state officials recently organized a speed-dating session to help cash-starved small business owners find lenders.
The Wall Street Journal reports that South Carolina business owners attended a one-day event last week that included workshops and panel discussions on business financing, strategies and marketing.
Interestingly, the event also included a "speed-dating" session in which entrepreneurs held multiple, short meetings with different lenders.
The event was championed by South Carolina Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt. South Carolina Governor Nikki Hale was undoubtedly also a strong support of the event. In this year's State of the State address, Hale said that "The heart of our economy is and always will be our small businesses. If we give them cash flow, if we give them profit margins, they aren't going on vacation - they will use those dollars to hire people, to invest back in our State. And it will be our people, and South Carolina's economy, that benefit."
Speed-dating events to match lenders with loan applicants appear to be a growing trend. The SBA has organized Borrower-Lender Matchmaking events in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and other states. The intent of these programs is to efficiently accelerate small business lending. Giving small businesses more access to capital is widely viewed by financial experts to be an essential element of any sustainable national economic recovery.
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