SAN FRANCISCO—In an effort to assist small businesses minorities, women, and veteran business owners, the city of San Francisco has created a partnership with the non-profit company Kiva in an effort to provide business financing options.

According to Capital One’s most recent Spark Business Barometer survey, “minority-owned businesses in San Francisco are more than twice as likely to face challenges related to securing a line of credit.” Kiva San Francisco will help provide business owners who may not qualify for traditional loans access to the capital they need.

SF Mayor Edward Lee announced at Dragon Papa’s pastry shop in Chinatown that San Francisco has partnered with Kiva, to provide micro loans with no fees and no interest to 1,000 small business owners. 

According to the Mayor’s Office, Dragon Papa was the first business to sign up for a micro loan. The pastry shop is expecting to raise $10,000 to hire new employees and purchase a vehicle to make deliveries. Kiva anticipates that this partnership will provide 750 new jobs to locals. Funding for the partnership is being backed by Capital One, who is matching every dollar up to $75,000.

Kiva will be working with other cities to assist small and minority business owners in their entrepreneurial efforts, particularly targeting cities in need of economic expansion opportunities. Prior to San Francisco, Detroit was a beneficiary from the Kiva partnership. 

The Office of Economic and Workforce Development will be assisting the local partnership with Kiva. Kiva has been known to crowd fund over 1.7 million entrepreneurs globally, according to the Capital One press release announcing their partnership. 

President of Kiva.org, Premal Shah, stated: “San Francisco’s small businesses are the heart of our city. They bring color and vibrancy to our neighborhoods, create quality jobs, and enrich the cultural fabric of our city, they have the passion and the play, but often they lack just a small amount of capital to start or expand. Through this initiative, we can all be a part of their success and keep the heart in San Francisco.”