SAN JOSE — A microlender has opened a new office in San Jose, a move the nonprofit hopes will bolster the fortunes of small businesses and entrepreneurs in the area.
TMC Community Capital has begun operating in downtown San Jose and intends to offer low-cost loans to businesses and individuals.
“We are thrilled to expand our presence in San Jose, a vibrant and diverse city with immense entrepreneurial potential,” said Daniel Fernandez, chief executive officer with TMC Community Capital.
The microlender provides what it describes as affordable loans ranging in amounts from $5,000 to $50,000 each.
“TMC Community Capital offers tailored financing options that provide the vital capital necessary for businesses to grow, create jobs, and make lasting contributions to the local economy,” the nonprofit said in a statement it provided to this news organization.
The Bay Area’s largest city, located within tech birthplace Silicon Valley, is an ideal location for a microlender such as TMC Community Capital, said San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.
“San Jose is a city of entrepreneurs,” Mahan said. “We’re home to over 60,000 businesses, 97% of which are small, and more new patents per capita than anywhere else in this nation.”
Mahan noted that small business owners and entrepreneurs require more than a good idea to prosper.
For that reason, lenders such as TMC Community Capital are a needed addition to the financing mosaic in San Jose, in Mahan’s view.
“To turn all of this vision and creativity into great products and services for our community, entrepreneurs need access to capital,” Mahan said, adding that TMC fills that need.
TMC Community Capital’s push into downtown San Jose represents an expansion for the nonprofit. TMC already operates out of an office on Telegraph Avenue in downtown Oakland.
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“We serve entrepreneurs statewide but San Jose remains one of the areas with a strong presence and admiration for small business owners,” said Omar Serrano, a TMC Community Capital spokesperson. “We feel that too.”
The new TMC Community Capital office is at 44 South First Street in downtown San Jose, tucked away in a courtyard next to Tea Alley and Insomnia Cookies.
“Our new office will enable us to provide even more targeted support to small business owners who are often overlooked by traditional lenders,” Fernandez said. “We are here to ensure they have the resources and guidance they need to thrive.”
TMC Community Capital has loaned more than $7.3 million and created more than $4 million in wage earnings, the nonprofit estimated.
In 2023, 82% of TMC’s loans went to entrepreneurs of color. More than half of the nonprofit’s loan volume supported women-owned businesses.
“I know TMC will help many more entrepreneurs turn their ideas into impact in the years ahead,” Mahan said.
For the nonprofit’s CEO Fernandez and the organization’s director of partnerships Mayra Contreras, the new downtown office is particularly meaningful, because they were both born and raised in San Jose.
“This milestone is personal for us,” Serrano said.