An immigrant from Peru, Pedro Zerpa worked his way up from dishwasher to head chef of a San Francisco restaurant with no formal culinary education. After 15 years as a chef, Pedro was ready to strike out on his own, and opened Fusion Peruvian Grill in San Mateo. He needed a microloan to expand his business, and was able to receive one from Working Solutions in just 9 days thanks to Accion Texas’s MMS program.
Category: Immigrants
Patty Rodriguez, SF Parking
Patty Rodriguez opened SF Parking in order to support jobs that would have otherwise been lost when her employers lost a parking contract, and continues to support job seekers in her community that would otherwise be unable to find work due to criminal histories or lack of education. She received a $25,000 microloan from Working Solutions in 2012, and continues to work with their staff to grow her small business.
Penny Baldado, Cafe Gabriela
Penny Baldado moved to the United States from the Philippines and opened her own cafe thanks to training and financial assistance from CAMEO member AnewAmerica.
Suely Ngouy, Woman for Woman
Suely Ngouy’s Central Valley business was able to secure the licenses and permits they needed to operate as a social enterprise serving Cambodian-American women thanks to help from PACE.
Luis Abundis, Nieves Cinco de Mayo
Luis Abundis’ Oakland-based small business grew to include multiple stores thanks to help from Centro Community Partners.
Fredy Gamez, Mission Street Oyster Bar
Small business owner Fredy Gamez opened the Mission Street Oyster Bar thanks to technical assistance from MEDA and a microloan from Working Solutions.
Kamal Mansoor, K.A.S. Auto Sales
Kamal Mansoor opened his own micro-business thanks to a microloan from CAMEO member Opening Doors.
Lidia Mendez, Taqueria Lidia
Thanks to advice from the El Pajaro Community Development Corporation, Lidia Mendez was able to recover a $20,000 loss and find a new location for Taqueria Lidia.
Chai Lee, Chai’s Cleaning Service
Escaping the harsh realities of life in a refugee camp was a victory for Chai and his family, but he had to re-build his life. Chai liked the idea of owning a business. He had no credit history and very little collateral, but wanted to buy a janitorial franchise. Because of an $8,000 loan and training from Fresno CDFI, Chai Lee was able to realize his dream of running his own business.
Cortland Avenue Corridor
San Francisco – An unprecedented number of small businesses in the Cortland Avenue Corridor are utilizing an important asset in the San Francisco small business community. Working Solutions, a local nonprofit microlender is providing much-needed capital to businesses that need small loans that traditional banks won’t touch. And creating jobs in the process – a total of 17 jobs!