Our September member highlight is Ed Vento from Prestamos CDFI!
Innevation Center member Ed Vento is the Business Development Officer for Prestamos CDFI. As a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a Community Development Entity (CDE), Prestamos provides loans and business counseling for small and emerging businesses especially those having limited access to banks.
Ed Vento grew up with entrepreneurial parents. He knows the many challenges that business owners face first hand. Before joining Prestamos, Ed served in various roles in industry and non-profit organizations serving small businesses, in particular, organizations that help Â鶹ӳ»’s micro-businesses and veteran-owned businesses.
The mission of Prestamos is to provide capital to emerging businesses that may not have access to capital via more traditional routes like banks or private investors. By leveling the playing field for a diverse range of businesses, Prestamos plays an integral role in creating jobs and economic opportunities in the communities they serve. Ed is passionate about serving entrepreneurs and small business owners. When clients speak to Ed about their business goals and financial challenges, Ed tries to find innovative ways to solve clients’ problems, working both within Prestamos and with partner lenders in his network.
Ed has been busy during this coronavirus crisis to say the least. Prestamos has provided over 1,200 loans and $28 million in capital to small business owners that didn’t have access to banks. Over 52% of the small business owners Prestamos helped were minorities and over 40% of those were women-owned businesses. Ed feels proud to say that his work at Prestamos has saved thousands of jobs and touched thousands of families. Prestamos’ micro-loan program also provides technical assistance in addition to capital, and many businesses in Northern Â鶹ӳ» are taking advantage of this assistance.
According to Ed, access to capital has become even tougher during the pandemic as banks move to mitigate risk in their portfolios. This is happening in the investment arena as well. While this may be new territory for some, Ed has seen major contractions and recessions before and knows the challenges his clients are facing. “The most important thing business owners can do is to stay focused on the core of their business while making sure to get through this pandemic,” says Ed. Savvy business owners try to leverage the resources within their reach and form strategic alliances with complimentary businesses and even some competitors. “New money doesn’t always help if you are going to spend the same way; these days you need to make a dollar stretch further every day,” says Ed. “When you get every penny of value out of your dollar and spend thoughtfully on your business, you are better prepared than 90% of businesses out there.”
Ed has chosen the Innevation Center to be a strategic location for his work. “It was important that the only CDFI based in Northern Â鶹ӳ» (and the only one that funds startups) be located at the center of entrepreneurship in our community,” explains Ed. Being in the Innevation Center, Ed wants to help startups navigating the debt financing space through loan servicing, connections to the right lenders, or helping startups reach “bankability” in order to have greater access to capital.
When not working on financing for a client, Ed enjoys skydiving and weight training. To learn more about Prestamos CDFI, .
