$25,000 Awardee – Financing
Headquartered in New York City, Seedco Financial Services, Inc. (Seedco Financial) was selected to receive the Financing award for its post-Hurricanes Katrina and Rita business lending program in Louisiana. Building on its successful emergency loan program in New York City after September 11 and in a number of other emergency lending initiatives, Seedco Financial piloted a $500,000 business lending program in New Orleans which grew rapidly, reaching $8MM in loan originations in only two years. The program has since grown into a $26 MM statewide economic development initiative that includes an innovative and flexible financial product, effective technical assistance provider network, and loan capital from a wide range of public and private sources. Seedco Financial’s ability to attract millions of dollars of loan capital from Federal, state, and local governments, and a consortium of banks and credit unions, was key to its success. For its work in quickly raising an impressive volume of capital and deploying it to businesses in hurricane-affected communities throughout Louisiana, Seedco Financial is a recognized leader in Financing.