Flagship Enterprise Center Touts Microlending

A lending program from the Flagship Enterprise Center Inc. in Anderson is ranked near the top of a list of microloan intermediaries throughout the nation. The Small Business Administration says the center was second overall in terms of the dollar amount of microloans closed during fiscal year 2015.

In all, FEC closed on 83 microloans valued at nearly $1.7 million, which the Madison County-based center says accounts for more than 80 percent of all SBA microloans in the state. Flagship was within $51,000 of the largest microlender in the country in this category, New Jersey nonprofit Cooperative Business Assistance Corp., which distributed more funding with 10 fewer closed loans.

The fiscal year closed September 30.

Flagship Enterprise Center launched its microloan program in 2010. It says the mission is to "assist FEC clients and partners with small businesses to provide financial services and resources that foster economic development in underserved communities." The program is a partnership between the city of Anderson and Anderson University. The center says more than 225 loans have been set up for small businesses.