At the Intersection

There is glass breaking in Newark these days. This time it is another glass ceiling being shattered by more good people. Newarkpulse.com was invited by the Rohan Mathew, Executive Director of The Intersect Fund, to attend a press conference to announce huge wins in the world of micro-finance in the state, and specifically here in Newark.

The press conference, which was attended by Senator Menendez and members from Capital One bank, was held at GlassRoots, which is located at 10 Bleeker Street. Specifically, The Intersect Fund has a new allocation of growth capital totaling $600,000 to be used statewide for micro loans, small business training, and coaching. The investment was spearheaded by $300,000 in grants from the CDFI fund and a $100,000 grant from Capital One.

The purpose of the funds is to curb predatory lending and other practices, and to promote an access to capital agenda, which Sen. Menedez says is the "backbone of our community" and will lead to "diverse corporate boards." The Senator later went on to say that the program "emboldens people to be successful" with "societal benefits and good economics as well."

Mr. Mathew, who started The Intersect Fund while as an undergrad at Rutgers, started the quickly growing micro-finance non-profit because he would "walk 4 or 5 blocks from campus and see a different world." Their team, which now has a total of 7 employees before hopefully growing to 12 this fiscal year, wanted to go help those that most needed: women, minorities, and immigrants. These small businesses typically ran their operations through credit cards, subprime lenders, family/friends, and loan sharks.

With this $600,000 infusion, The Intersect Fund hopes to leverage up to $1 Million of loans and programs over the next 2 years, with a statewide expansion and an increased loan size, with a maximum now set at $20,000 (double the current max). Previously, the team has helped approximately 500 businesses, which also led to the hiring of 70 new employees besides those they helped stabilize. There are claims that if 1 of 3 small businesses would be able to add 1 new employee, the country could eliminate all of its current unemployment.

In Newark, The Intersect Fund has helped such businesses as a hot dog cart operator, a caterer, and Columbian English Institute, which is based in the North Ward. It focuses on education and empowerment of immigrants through classes and assistance in such critical items as citizenship and financial sustainability. The daughter of its founder remarked, "Without the Intersect Fund, I don't know where we would be."

Here's to hoping that a lot more glass (ceiling) is broken.