Like countless small businesses across the country, N&R Divine Cleaning Service in Hackensack saw its client base dry up when the COVID-19 pandemic struck last year. Offices, schools, and fitness centers were all forced to close for a few months and no longer needed professional cleaners.
“It was not a good feeling,” said owner Nadine Brown, who had to use her savings to pay bills and buy groceries.
Brown, who was out of work for three or four months, said she applied for loans to support her business but wasn’t successful. Since her one-woman firm has only been in operation for a couple of years, Brown said banks looked at her personal credit score, which was “not that great.”
That was when she learned, through a connection at the African American Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey (AACCNJ), about a program to help Black-owned businesses access capital in the wake of the pandemic.
The Equitable Small Business Initiative, run by the AACCNJ and New Jersey Community Capital, is a $5 million (and growing) pot of money used to award loans to businesses owned by people of color most impacted by the pandemic.
