Capital 2025 V1
Investing in Communities
The NC Rural Center manages two lending programs to deploy small business capital, the North Carolina State Small Business and Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and CornerSquare Community Capital. Both programs use an indirect lending model to help small business owners access the capital they need to start or expand their businesses. This indirect model allows us to participate in loans that our bank and community development financial institution (CDFI) partners originate directly to their borrowers. We also invest capital into venture capital funds, helping them support entrepreneurs across the state.
Key Capital Metrics
186
Number of loans, FY 2025
$47.6M
Value of loans, FY 2025
3,543
Number of loans, lifetime
$362M
Lifetime value of Rural Center loans
Small Business Lending
The Rural Center supports small businesses and entrepreneurs across the state thanks to our close work with our lending partners, with 45 percent of our loans going to underserved rural communities. These loans have led to investment of more than $520 million in private capital that has helped create or retain 500 jobs across the state. This map shows our lending activity over the past fiscal year by loan value.
Capital Impact
The NC Rural Center has offered microlending programs nearly since our founding almost 40 years ago. Over that time, we've invested in small businesses, entrepreneurs, disaster relief, and pandemic recovery. We've now made over 3,500 loans worth more than $360 million, investments that have supported underserved communities throughout the state. We have also emerged as a leader among the state's community development financial institutions by building a coalition to better serve people who need capital to finance new or expanding businesses. Read below to learn what these loans meant to shop owners Kim and Russ Pullen, dentist Tara Wiggins, and counselor Kayla Reilly, and how the Rural Center gave them chances others would not.
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Armeer Kenchen View Biography
Executive Vice President of Small Business Capital, Executive Director of the Small Business Credit Initiative & CornerSquare Community CapitalVolunteered at 17 for the U.S. Army so now avoids bad coffee. Long runs. Long hikes. Camping. All forms of volunteerism.