Maybe Starbucks can give entrepreneurs more than just a daily jolt of caffeine… perhaps the coffee company can help kick-start small business lending. While the government’s much touted Small Business Lending Fund is widely viewed as a dud, Starbucks has begun its own small business financing initiative by teaming up with Philadelphia-based nonprofit Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) and starting a program called Create Jobs for USA. The coffee giant will pool donations from its customers, employees and concerned citizens into a nationwide fund for community business lending.
Calling small businesses “the backbone of America,” Starbucks chairman Howard Schultz said, “We’ve got to thaw the channels of credit so that community businesses can start hiring again. Create Jobs for USA empowers Americans to help other Americans create and sustain jobs.”
To read the full, original article click on this link: Something Is Brewing in Small Business: Starbucks
Author:Rohit Arora
