We're excited to share that we received a grant from Umpqua Bank. The award will help Centro build internal capacity and offer culturally relevant technical assistance programs to support low-income women, entrepreneurs of color, and small businesses.

Thanks to this grant, Centro will be able to invest in critical resources to bring our Entrepreneurship Suite to organizations throughout the United States. Our goal is to provide a complete high-impact enterprise-building resource to other organizations that support aspiring and current small business owners who lack business education or experience.

Centro believes in creating connections that make sense and helping underserved communities access resources that allow them to thrive and energize the local ecosystem. For that reason, in addition to supporting small businesses to apply for loans with Kiva, Centro also helps local organizations connect with the entrepreneurs that need their help.

With this year’s expansion of the Centro’s Capital Hub to San Francisco, Centro supports more entrepreneurs and organizations in San Francisco and parts of San Mateo County to provide access to Kiva’s interest-free microloans.

We are grateful to Umpqua Bank for recognizing our community initiatives and investing in us with a $450,000 grant on a 3-year financial commitment. We are honored for this award and look forward to collaborating with Umpqua Bank to build thriving and inclusive communities.