Closing the gap betweenambition and access.
As a certified CDFI since 2008, the Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund provides lending capital and technical assistance to small business owners across Harlem, the Bronx, Queens, and beyond. Through our partnership with the NYC Department of Small Business Services, we also operate Business Solutions Centers serving entrepreneurs from 42nd Street to Inwood.
Two programs · Two ways in · Start with whichever fits
Logo placeholderHarlem Entrepreneurial Fund
Harlem Entrepreneurial Fund
Our lending arm · Certified CDFI
If you need capital for your business, this is where to go. HEF serves low-income and minority residents by providing lending capital and technical assistance to facilitate small business expansion and job creation. We lend across Harlem, the Bronx, Queens, and beyond.
We look at the whole business rather than a credit score alone, and we lend to owners conventional banks routinely turn away. To date we have deployed more than $17 million in capital. Loan amounts, terms, eligibility, and the full application all live on the HEF site. And because we pair that capital with hands-on advisory support, borrowers get more than a loan and a handshake — we stay involved as the business grows.
Get funded →HEF does not discriminate on the basis of race, colour, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, disability, or because all or part of an applicant's income derives from a public assistance programme. Every application is judged on the strength of the business and the owner behind it.
Logo placeholderNYC Business Solutions
NYC Business Solutions Center
Operated by HCC for NYC SBS
If you need help running and growing the business, this is where to go. We operate the Upper Manhattan and Washington Heights centers on behalf of Small Business Services to help businesses open, operate, and expand in New York City — at no cost, whatever your size or stage.
That support is what's meant by technical assistance: free, hands-on expert help with the business side of your business — business plans and bookkeeping, legal consultations, M/WBE certification, permits and licensing, hiring and training funds. Not a loan, not a grant; a person who knows this work sitting down with you. We have helped more than 45,000 individuals.
Get free support →Upper Manhattan361 West 125th Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10027 · Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm
Washington Heights560 West 181st Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10033 · Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm