Access Plus Capital

What Access Plus Capital does

Access Plus Capital is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), legally organized as Fresno CDFI, that provides affordable financing, technical assistance, and business coaching to underserved entrepreneurs across California's 15-county Central Valley. Founded in 2008–2009 and operating from a purchased 6,106 sq ft headquarters in downtown Fresno, the organization runs four offices (Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, Sacramento) and has deployed over $70 million to more than 1,500 small businesses since inception, reporting a 96% portfolio repayment rate. Its core product set spans nano loans ($5,000–$20,000, subsidized to 3% APR via a Wells Fargo Open for Business grant), microloans up to $50,000, growth-stage loans over $50,000 (including a $7M Scale Fresno tranche targeting 140 loans over three years), and climate-focused Green Futures and Valley Green Futures loans for energy efficiency and solar/vehicle investments, supplemented by the BTAC bonding and contracting program.

The business model is mission-driven rather than equity-financed. Revenue is generated primarily from interest on the loan portfolio, complemented by grants and program-related investments from foundations (James Irvine Foundation $1M for Scale Fresno, Wells Fargo grants totaling $320K, S2J2 Catalyst, Campbell Foundation, California Jobs First), an EQ2 investment from Community West Bank, SBA guarantee programs, and individual donations. Pricing is unit-based by loan product with risk-adjusted rates and monthly or annual billing cadences. Distribution is hybrid: direct field lending by Small Business Lending Officers supplemented by an SBA-backed origination channel and a referral network of 21+ Scale Fresno partner organizations.

Underlying technology is conventional rather than proprietary — a third-party cloud loan management system (BMISW) with a borrower portal, encrypted secure file upload, ACH autopay, a public loan calculator, and a white-label AccessLink partner platform. The organization is US Treasury-certified as a CDFI, holds SBA Approved Microloan Intermediary and Community Advantage SBLC status, complies with Title VI and Section 504, and has earned a 2026 Candid Platinum Seal of Transparency. Leadership (CEO Tate Hill, COO Pamela Mostert, VP of Lending SeeYeng Her, Chief of Staff Ushan Samarakone) is predominantly women and people of color, reflecting the demographics of the borrower base.

Name

Access Plus Capital

Legal name

Fresno CDFI (dba Access Plus Capital)

Website

https://accesspluscapital.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Access Plus Capital is a nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution providing microloans, nano loans, growth-stage financing, and climate loans alongside technical assistance to underserved entrepreneurs across 15 Central California counties.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) Microfinance Lending

NAICS

Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation (52229), Credit Intermediation and Related Activities (522)

SIC

Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159), Short-Term Business Credit Institutions (6153)

akta.pro primary industry

Microloans & Working Capital Loans (FSAKAGAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA), SME Term Loans & Growth Capital (FSAKAGAB), SBA/Government-Backed & Development Finance Loans (FSAKAGAI), Financial Inclusion & Consumer Empowerment (Banking Access, Credit Building) (BPAGALAJ)

Keywords

• Microfinance lending
• Community development lending
• Small business loans
• Climate lending products
• Financial literacy services

Headquarters

HQ city

Fresno

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Microloans and Small Business Loans: Provides loans to small businesses that cannot qualify for traditional bank financing. Loans range from nano loans ($5,000-$20,000) to microloans (up to $50,000) to larger growth-stage loans. Revenue generated from interest on loan portfolio.
2. Green/Climate Loans: Specialized loan products for climate-smart investments including energy efficiency, solar, electric vehicles. Deploys approximately $1M annually in green financing.
3. Technical Assistance and Business Coaching: Free business coaching, financial literacy workshops, and technical assistance provided alongside loans to ensure borrower success.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Access Plus Capital is a US Treasury-certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and SBA Approved Microloan Intermediary Lender that provides microloans ($5,000-$50,000), nano loans, growth-stage loans, and specialized climate-focused loan products to underserved entrepreneurs across 15 Central California counties. The offering combines direct lending with free technical assistance, business coaching, financial literacy workshops, and program-specific support (BTAC, Green Futures, Valley Green Futures).

Product overview

Access Plus Capital is a mission-driven Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) providing a comprehensive suite of financing products and business support services to underserved entrepreneurs in Central California. The core offering consists of business loans (microloans, startup loans, working capital, equipment, and real estate financing) supplemented by climate-focused products including the Green Futures Loan and Valley Green Futures Loan for energy efficiency and sustainability projects. Additional services include financial literacy training, small business coaching, and the BTAC program for contractors. The organization operates as a single integrated platform with loan products, technical assistance, and community programs designed to work together to support entrepreneurs from loan application through business growth.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Green Futures Loan: Climate loan product for energy efficiency upgrades including HVAC, LED lighting, Energy Star equipment, cool roofs for small businesses.
• Valley Green Futures Loan Fund
• Scale Fresno

Quantifiable outcome

• 97% loan repayment rate despite serving borrowers who cannot qualify for traditional financing
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and strategic.

• Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce (FMBCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint BTAC (Bonding, Technical Assistance, and Contracting) program supporting Black, women, and minority-owned construction businesses. Featured on CBS47 and KSEE24 news coverage.
• Milken InstitutestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCapacity building partner for green lending program development. Partnership includes White Paper publication on Operational Best Practices for Green Lending sponsored with Banyan Infrastructure.
• Elemental ImpactstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerEcosystem partner for climate lending infrastructure development. Collaboration through S2J2 Spring Sprint and Elemental Interactive events.
• Banyan InfrastructurestrategicTechnology or IntegrationProject finance technology platform provider enabling green lending compliance and emissions tracking. Supports preparation for GGRF fund deployment and compliance reporting.
• Scale Fresno Partner Network (21+ organizations)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner21 partner organizations including: Asian Business Institute, CDC Small Business Finance, Central California Hispanic Chamber, Fresno Metro Black Chamber, Fresno County EDC, Hmong Business Incubator Center, SBA Fresno District, and others unified to grow small business ownership by 30% by 2030.
• African American Alliance of CDFI CEOsstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting climate lending initiatives and broader CDFI network collaboration for climate-smart technologies.
• LISC AmeriCorpsstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate and Green Lending Specialist member assigned to Access Plus Capital through LISC AmeriCorps program, supporting organizational capacity for green lending.
• U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSBA Approved Community Advantage SBLC and Microloan Intermediary Lender. SBA Fresno District participates in Scale Fresno initiative as partner organization.
• Fresno County Economic Development CorporationstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerEconomic development partner supporting Access Plus Capital's mission and new headquarters. CEO Lee Ann Eager serves as former board chair.
• Fresno Downtown PartnershipstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting downtown Fresno economic development. CEO Elliott Balch serves as board chair of Access Plus Capital.
• Central Valley Community FoundationstrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted Financial Equity and Capital Gaps in Fresno County event with Funding Fresno. Collaborative partner in Fresno DRIVE Initiative.
• Fresno Economic Opportunities Commission (Fresno EOC)strategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal parent organization before becoming independent entity. Historical connection through Southeast Asian farmer lending programs from refugee resettlement.
• Central Valley Immigrant Integration CollaborativestrategicStrategic or Co-development PartnerScale Fresno partner supporting immigrant entrepreneurs and integration services for diverse Central Valley communities.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Kiva: Kiva is a global nonprofit microfinance platform enabling crowdfunded microloans to underserved entrepreneurs, including in the U.S. via Kiva U.S. Shared focus on character-based, no-collateral small dollar lending to borrowers excluded from traditional banking, with bundled borrower support.
• Grameen America: Grameen America provides microloans to women entrepreneurs in underserved U.S. communities using group lending methodology. Highly comparable mission, target borrower (women and minority entrepreneurs), and microloan product structure even though operating outside California.
• Pacific Community Ventures: Pacific Community Ventures is a Bay Area-based CDFI offering small business loans and advising to underserved entrepreneurs in California. Comparable business model combining capital with technical assistance and shared focus on BIPOC and small business growth in California.
• CDC Small Development Financial Institution: CDC Small Business Finance is a California-based CDFI that is a Scale Fresno partner and one of the most directly comparable peers. It provides SBA 504 and microloans to underserved small businesses in California with similar mission-driven, technical-assistance-bundled lending model.
• Justine Petersen Housing and Reinvestment Corporation: Justine Petersen is a CDFI providing small business microloans, technical assistance, and coaching to underserved entrepreneurs with a strong track record of bundling loans with financial education. Mission-aligned peer operating in a different region but with comparable product set and borrower profile.
• Accion Opportunity Fund: Accion Opportunity Fund is a leading CDFI providing small business microloans and community lending nationwide, including California. It shares Access Plus Capital's mission-driven small business lending focus, bilingual support, and partnership with Opportunity Finance Network on CCIA capital deployment.

Emerging players

• Lendio: Lendio is an SBA-preferred small business loan marketplace that connects borrowers with multiple lenders. Partial overlap as it enables access to SBA Microloan and Community Advantage loans through partner network including CDFIs, sharing distribution logic but operating as a for-profit fintech.

Others

• Opportunity Finance Network: Opportunity Finance Network is the national CDFI intermediary that awarded Access Plus Capital access to $2.29B CCIA capital and serves as the industry backbone. OFN is comparable as ecosystem infrastructure rather than direct competitor, channeling federal climate and small business capital to community lenders.

Broad incumbents

• Funding Circle U.S. Funding Circle is a major online small business lending platform offering working capital and term loans to U.S. SMBs. Comparable SME lending category but operates as a for-profit fintech at much larger scale, providing market context for Access Plus Capital's subsidized microloan niche.

Regional players

• Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce: Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce is a Scale Fresno partner running the BTAC program with APC for minority contractors. While a chamber rather than lender, it operates in the same Fresno geography and shares APC's mission of supporting BIPOC small business ownership.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/AccessPlusCapital
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/accesspluscapital
• Instagraminstagram.com/accesspluscapital
• Xx.com/AccessPlusCap

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Access Plus Capital