Hussein arrived in the United States in 2018, determined to start a new life after he and his family had to flee their home in Burma as refugees. Upon arriving in the Atlanta area, he dreamed of starting a home renovation business to support his family.
Dahir and Fatima fled their home country of Syria due to the ongoing civil war in the country. A highly motivated couple, they looked for ways to support themselves and their children, including taking jobs as rideshare drivers and daycare center workers. However, it was really difficult to become financially independent.
A nonprofit that guides individuals and families on their journey from survival to prosperity, providing refugees like Hussein, Dahir, and Fatima with access to the funds they need to start and strengthen small businesses that lead to self-sufficiency. He founded the organization Inspiritas. Let community lending thrive. Emerging Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI), a nonprofit organization, provides loans, financial counseling, and professional business development services to refugees to support small business efforts in Georgia.
As you can imagine, refugees often face a variety of challenges, from lack of credit to unfamiliarity with the U.S. financial system, which can create obstacles to securing business financing. As recipients of Thrive loans, customers receive the support they need to start and grow their businesses, support their families, and contribute to the economy.
Thrive Community Lending provides a suite of financial services, including ongoing technical assistance, financial literacy, business coaching, cultural competency training, and equitable access to affordable capital. Thrive's financing options include step-up microloans from $3,001 to $7,500 and microloans from $7,501 to $15,000.
For Hussain, this support meant enrolling in Inspiritas' Micro-Enterprise Development (MED) program. He quickly completed his business training classes and his one-on-one counseling sessions with his members of his MED staff. He was able to learn how to create a business plan, track finances, and pay taxes as a contractor. Additionally, he learned how credit and credit scores affect Georgia's access to business finance and liability insurance requirements.
For Dahir and Fatima, who, like many newly arrived refugees, had a dream of starting or growing a small business to better support their families, this was the result of Inspiritas' micro-enterprise development program. This meant registering with the company, and the staff would help develop a business plan for the new hometown. Store decorations and supplies and take actionable steps to keep them on track. A microloan from Thrive Community Lending helped purchase merchandise and rent space to store and sell inventory.
Six months after receiving the loan, Hussain's business is growing. He and his partners in his business have bought, renovated and sold his first home and currently owns his second home, which is for sale. Mr. Hussein used his loan funds to purchase a suitable vehicle for his business and was able to increase his family's monthly income by his $1,000 through the new business. Hussein expects the business to continue to grow in the coming months, and he expects to hire his first employee this year.
Dahir and Fatima report that they currently earn $1,500 a month in business income to support their family. They continue to strengthen America's business acumen and look for ways to further serve their communities. They are diligently repaying their first loan and plan to borrow additional funds once their first loan is paid off.
Refugees and immigrants in Georgia make up 10 percent of the state's population and 14 percent of its workforce, according to a recent report. More than 90% of refugees resettled in Atlanta by Inspiritas achieve self-sufficiency within six months of arriving in the United States.
Today, Hussain, Dahir and Fatima's business is growing rapidly. They can better support their families and support their communities. With the help of Thrive Community Lending, they transformed their future from survival to thriving.
