Lendio Partners With Lendistry to Ease Access to Capital for Underserved Communities

Through this partnership, Lendio will provide a streamlined application and loan matching process for business owners challenged to access funding

Lehi, Utah – June 23, 2020 – Lendio, the nation’s leading marketplace for small business loans, today announced a partnership with Lendistry, an online lender that focuses on providing economic opportunities and progressive growth for minority small business owners and those in underserved communities.

Lendistry began lending in 2015 with a mission to make the dream of owning a small business accessible to everyone. Many promising entrepreneurs are challenged to access the funding they need to start, operate and grow a business. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency, minority-owned businesses experience large disparities in access to capital. More than 70% of Lendistry’s small business customers are women, minorities, veterans and those who serve in underserved communities.

With thousands of small businesses enduring temporary closures and ongoing economic uncertainty, Lendistry and Lendio’s shared mission to fuel entrepreneurship will provide much-needed access to government relief funds as well as working capital as businesses seek to reopen and rebuild.

As part of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act, the federal government created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and set aside $650 billion to help small businesses. To date, Lendio has facilitated over $8 billion in PPP loans for more than 100,000 small businesses across the U.S. Many of these are among the smallest of small businesses; the average PPP loan size facilitated through Lendio is $65,000, where the national average is around $114,000.

“We’re extremely proud to add Lendistry to Lendio’s marketplace of small business lending options,” said Brock Blake, CEO and co-founder of Lendio. “Lendistry’s mission-driven approach to financing small businesses aligns with our own commitment to fueling the American dream. Now more than ever, business owners in underserved communities need funding to keep them going and help them plan for the future. Lendistry’s experience and expertise coupled with Lendio’s high-tech, consultative approach will do just that.”

“Small businesses across the country are still feeling the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. Many of the hardest-hit businesses are minority-owned or operating in underserved communities,” said Everett K. Sands, CEO of Lendistry. “Partnering with Lendio will allow us to connect more of these business owners to a diverse range of capital solutions, whether in the form of SBA relief funds for their short-term needs or ongoing financing to facilitate long-term growth and success.”

About Lendistry

Lendistry is a minority-owned and technology-enabled small business and commercial real estate lender. Certified by the United States Department of Treasury as a CDFI and a Community Development Entity (CDE), and a member of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco, Lendistry can secure key sources of long-term and low-cost capital such as the New Markets Tax Credit, CDFI Bond Fund, and loan guarantees. Lendistry and its nonprofit partner organization, The Center, support small business owners because when locally-owned businesses grow, their communities thrive with them.