By Justin Sayles
PBN Staff Writer
Denise Barge has never owned a business, and admits that she likely never will. But Barge, a former banking executive who now heads two key minority financing nonprofits, has a good idea of what a successful business looks like.
Barge serves as executive director of both the Minority Investment Development Corporation and the Rhode Island Coalition for Minority Investment – two organizations that work to help minority and female entrepreneurs who are unable to obtain more traditional forms of financing.
People who come to the private, nonprofit community development organizations generally have been turned away by banks and other financial institutions.
“There’s a certain hurdle for you to meet when it comes to qualifying,” Barge said. “If you don’t fit into the square hole there, you’re … declined. Then you have to look for what we call alternative bank sources.”
And that’s where the MIDC and RICMI come in.
If a prospective borrower meets the qualifications – the organization believes the entrepreneur can repay the loan, and the service or product to be offered supports an ultimate goal of community development – the organizations will generally grant the loan.
RICMI administers the U.S. Small Business Administration’s micro-loan program and typically provides financing in the $2,000 to $35,000 range. MIDC focuses on larger loans, Barge said, providing financing between $35,000 and $250,000.
Barge, who has served as executive director of MIDC and RICMI since 1994, has an idea of what it’s like for people to be turned away at a bank – she started her career in that world.
In the latter part of her banking career, Barge was involved in community development efforts. She learned that many of the budding entrepreneurs she encountered not only lacked the proper financing but also the proper knowledge to sustain their investment.
Part of what makes Barge proud of her work, she said, is being able to provide education alongside financing.
One of RICMI’s more successful programs is the Genesis Center Gateway Business Forum – a 13-week program run annually primarily aimed at low- to moderate-income entrepreneurs. Attendees learn the nuts and bolts of running a business, marketing and financial literacy.
Barge recommends the program to people looking to strike out on their own because it can help them decide whether they really want to own a business.
RICMI also runs an annual conference aimed at women of low and moderate incomes – both entrepreneurs and potential business owners. The one-day event, called Emerging Women in Business, covers topics such as financing and developing a business plan, and it features motivational speakers that Barge hopes not only inspire the women, but also make them aware of the challenges.
Barge said she sees more and more women willing to take on their challenges and aim for personal success; she has seen a sharp increase in the number of female applicants to the two nonprofits’ loan programs. In fact, she estimates that women-led business creations are outpacing male-owned ones at a rate of three to one.
Barge is also happy to see a growing number of minority-owned businesses, even if they are modest endeavors such as hair salons.
“If you’re looking in the entrepreneurial community, quite a bit of the Hispanic community tends to gravitate toward things they have experience in, which tends to be the bodegas and the types of businesses that they think their customers will definitely patronize,” Barge said.
But those are important businesses, Barge said. Businesses that meet the needs of the communities that the MIDC and RICMI are working in are the ones that are going to be providing jobs and weaving themselves into the fabrics of the neighborhoods. •
