Sandra Almonte can dish out some mean stew chicken, but don’t ask her to explain how to attach financial information to a pandemic loan application.
The Dominican-born restaurant owner might need more coaching if she follows through with her dream of opening a second location in the coming years.
“I’d probably get advice on that,” said the owner of the Don Quijote Restaurant in Manchester. “I’m basically a one-man operation here.”
Almonte can count on a new community-based pilot program to provide coaching and potential loans to businesses owned by people of color launched by the New Hampshire Community Loan Fund and the Manchester NAACP.
“It’s part of the changing demographics of the city and where we’re going to try and be more inclusive and meaningful in connecting with clients and small-business owners who need assistance,” said Zachery Palmer, community business lender at the loan fund.
Over the past three decades, Manchester’s under-18 minority population has grown from 6% to 43%, reflecting the city’s shifting racial makeup.
The pilot program includes a new community business development council made up of business owners who will identify and refer fellow business owners who could use technical assistance and business loans.
“It is to make connections with the resources and networks that already exist,” said James McKim, president of the Manchester NAACP. “Let the community decide how it wants to grow. Let the community decide where the resources are applied.”
Many would-be business people face various challenges.
“Many people of color don’t have the collateral that is necessary or required by banks to get loans or financing to start their businesses or grow their businesses,” he said.
Some need to understand how to do accounting software “rather than carry their receipts in a shoebox,” McKim said.
Others need to learn how to market their business.
Some new residents hail from other countries and English is not their native tongue.
“They’re learning a total new way of life,” McKim said. “They don’t understand the way the system works here culturally, let alone how to do business.”
The goal is to assist the business owners to be successful.
“We don’t want them to increase the ranks of the poor,” McKim said.
For the pilot program, 45 minority business owners were interviewed. They revealed most didn’t belong to any groups or associations, such as the local chamber of commerce, had limited relationships with banking institutions, had no option but to self-fund their startup investment, and struggled with documentation, including bookkeeping and contracting, according to a consultant’s report.
“Many business owners felt they had to figure everything out on their own with limited resources,” said the four-page report. “They want to seek support in real time as they are experiencing certain challenges.”
Strengths of those businesses included “resourceful and resilient” owners, it said.
“Those with cultural understanding of their customer base customize their product and services,” it said.
Several banks have provided financial assistance while the McLane law firm has offered its services at a reduced rate. The pilot program has raised more than $150,000 for technical assistance, such as legal or accounting needs for business owners.
“Whatever the business needs, we’re dedicated to helping them,” McKim said. “We’ll find a way.”
Beatrice Adekoya, co-owner of Mercy of God African Market, received a loan from the community loan fund to help relocate to Elm Street in Manchester next month, a loan not related to the pilot program.
Since 2004, she and her husband, Emmanuel, have operated the Maple Street store, offering food products mostly from Africa.
Employees with the loan fund have been helpful and made the couple “feel at home” with their customer service, said the Nigerian native.
The new space at 167 Elm St. will include a restaurant and will be reflected in a name change to Mercy of God African Market and Restaurant.
Almonte, who’s operated her restaurant for two decades, knows of fellow business owners needing help.
“I’ve been trying to help other minority-owned business owners, especially those who did not get any PPP loans or some other government grants,” said Almonte, who hopes to be a member of the business council.
Almonte, who received a small Paycheck Protection Program loan thanks to help from a financial professional, said her Caribbean restaurant serves as what she calls “my little community hub.”
“We get to know the different struggles we’re all facing,” Almonte said. “It feels like home for them.”
As for trying to learn various skills to run a business, Almonte said: “We really don’t have much time to look into this because we have so much time invested in the business.”
