Posted on July 8, 2010 - by M. Bennett

WSJ: Microfinance Groups Think Big…

Tight credit markets have slammed small businesses during the recession. That leaves entrepreneurs like Cecilia Aspiazu, who sells clothing and beauty products out of her home in Jamaica, Queens, increasingly turning to microloans.

“I’m fixing it little by little,” Ms. Aspiazu says of her shaky credit. “I would like to get a bank loan one day. I want to open a store.”

In the meantime, Ms. Aspiazu, a 63-year-old from Colombia, is borrowing little amounts at a time. She is about to pay off her second loan for $2,000 from Grameen America, a microfinance organization that provides small loans mostly to immigrant women. Ms. Aspiazu plans to take out a third loan this August for $2,500.

Microfinance organizations such as Grameen America are expanding services in New York, amid growing demand. Applications for loans in 2009 were up at 66% of the U.S. microfinance organizations surveyed by the Aspen Institute, a policy and research organization.

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