YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – Valley Partners looks to continue providing lending solutions for small businesses and helping boost the regional economy in 2023.
“We are committed to the success of businesses in our community. We will work diligently with our partners to create the best lending solution that each one needs,” says Executive Director Teresa Miller. “We worked diligently over the last few years to bring additional capital to the area and get those funds into the hands of the businesses that need it most.”
In 2022, Valley Partners focused on continuing to offer short-term, lower-interest-rate financing to help combat the impacts of the economic crisis, Miller says.
Valley Partners closed 75 loans in 2022, the highest number ever recorded in one year for the organization – excluding one-time Small Business Administration PPP loans, Miller says.
A total of $9.8 million was disbursed in loans, which helped complete projects that injected $21.4 million into the local economy during the year, she says.
Also in 2022, 214 grants were funded to small businesses for a total of $2 million on behalf of the Trumbull County commissioners’ CARES 4 Trumbull grant program, which helped retain more than 1,000 jobs in the county, Miller says.
Valley Partners expanded in 2022 by creating its Business Resource Center with workspace cubicles and a resource manager to help new or existing businesses with their technical assistance needs. The center hosts lunch and learn classes for entrepreneurs on topics such as creating a business plan, formulating projections and marketing. The center is an effort to further reach underserved segments such as female- and minority-owned businesses and those located in qualified census tracts areas, Miller says.
“We will continue to secure additional funds to help create jobs and to support entrepreneurs in starting or expanding their own business,” Miller says.