February 1, 2012

ACCION Texas-Louisiana has recently shortened its name to just ACCION Texas Inc., to simplify its branding.  This change has been reflected across the Kiva website.  ACCION Texas continues to offer loan programs within the state of Louisiana, as well as in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee.

September 11, 2011

As part of an ongoing effort to fully migrate risk ratings to our new and enhanced risk rating system, Kiva has conducted a re-assessment of the level of risk posed by this institution.

During this re-assessment, our analysts were able to gather updated operational and financial information about the institution, as well as speak with key members of the staff. 

Kiva's new risk rating system, which now includes half stars, has enabled us to display ACCION Texas Inc.'s risk rating with a higher level of granularity. As a result, ACCION Texas Inc.'s risk rating will now be displayed as 3.5 stars instead of 4 stars.

We have prepared a blog post with more information on Kiva's new and enhanced risk rating system, along with a chart showing the relative magnitude of the overall changes for Kiva's portfolio.  To view that, please go here: http://www.kiva.org/updates/kiva/2011/09/07/kiva-risk-ratings-now-with-half-stars.html.

ACCION Texas Inc. has been informed of the change in the display of their rating on Kiva's website. 

Original Partner Description

ACCION Texas Inc. is an award-winning nonprofit organization established in 1994 in San Antonio. ACCION has helped Texas and Louisiana entrepreneurs strengthen their businesses, stabilize and increase their incomes, create employment, and contribute to the economic revitalization of their communities. Learn more at  www.acciontexas.org.

Our Mission

To provide credit and service to small businesses that do not have access to loans from commercial sources, and to provide leadership and service to the micro lending field on a national level.

Our Services

ACCION Texas Inc.:

--Individual business loans from $500 to $100,000 for existing and start-up businesses.
--Business lines of credit from $5,000-$50,000 for established businesses with two years of financial history.

We provide underwriting services for nine other nonprofits across the United States.

We also run the South Texas Women’s Business Center, whose mission is to educate, support, and strengthen women and small business entrepreneurs in establishing and expanding their businesses through quality business technical assistance, counseling, and advocacy.

Our Impact

--Between 1994 and 2009, ACCION Texas Inc. made $93.6 million in loans which produced $173.8 million in new economic activity including earnings (payroll) of $55.2 million, state and local tax revenue of $10.1 million. These results represent a 60 percent social return on investment – every dollar loaned creates an average of 60 cents annually in new economic activity.
--ACCION Texas Inc.’s micro loans also create employment. ACCION borrowers created almost 2,200 new jobs and sustained over 4,000 between June 1994 and 2009.
--After three small loans with ACCION Texas Inc., clients increase business equity by 22%, bring in 67% more in monthly business profits and increase take home pay by 44%.
--ACCION makes a loan every two hours somewhere in Texas and/or Louisiana.

Why Microlending in the U.S.?

Microlending—providing access to capital to those who are unable to access bank credit—is becoming an increasingly important strategy for helping low and moderate-income families. Income inequality continues to increase in the United States. Recent IRS data show that in 2005, the top 10 percent of Americans collectively earned almost as much as the bottom 50 percent of Americans. The poorest 20 percent of the population has only seen their real income increase by about 5 percent in the last 15 years—from $13,900 to $14,700. These families are finding it harder and harder to build a secure financial future—one with stable employment, a living wage, health insurance, savings, and homeownership.  

To gain greater control over their working lives, many families are turning to microbusiness. Research tells us that at least 1.8 million low income entrepreneurs do not have access to microfinance products. The demand is greater than ever. For the past year, ACCION Texas Inc. has been lending up to $1 million every month in microloans. We are disbursing capital as fast as we can get it! Across the country new and established microentrepreneurs can create stronger businesses and a brighter future with access to capital. 

Microloans impact families and communities

It’s easy to see how a micro loan ripples across families, communities, and even generations. Our loans

--create jobs
--promote income stability
--improve credit scores
--help customers become bankable
--encourage new home ownership

They also benefit children who see at an early age how business works, becoming more likely to pursue higher education as family income grows.

How to get involved

Join the ACCION Texas Inc. lending team

Donate to ACCION Texas Inc.

Follow ACCION Texas Inc. on twitter @ACCION_TX

Like ACCION Texas Inc. on Facebook