Small businesses and entrepreneurs could be eligible for a loan of up to $35,000 through the Mountain Microenterprise Fund.

The new Loan Plus Program has increased the amount Mountain Microenterprise will lend, which was previously capped at $10,000. MMF staff provide support to the loan recipients, including individual assistance, classroom training and seminars.

“Our loan program is not for everyone,” Center Director Tonya Wilson-Snider stated in a press release. “Clients that are bankable should use their local banks. Our programs are for those that aren’t quite bankable, which includes most start-ups.”

Anyone with a solid business plan and a dream may be eligible.

“However, we reserve the right to send them to one of our training programs, too,” Wilson-Snider said. “Knowledge is the key to successfully starting and sustaining a business. We want to make sure our clients have all the tools they need to be successful.”

Mountain Microenterprise Fund is a non-profit organization that provides business planning, training, small business loans, and on-going support to individuals who want to start or expand a small business. Nearly 1,400 aspiring entrepreneurs throughout Western North Carolina have participated in MMF’s Foundations Business Planning Program since its founding in 1989.

For more information, contact MMF at 828.631.0292 or www.mtnmicro.org.