B2B Funding grants $4M to businesses hit by COVID-19 to continue operations
B2B Funding, established in Puerto Rico in 2016, to offer financing alternatives to local entrepreneurs, said it has awarded about $4 million to more than 150 businesses that continue to operate despite the challenges they have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding has been assigned through its business loan programs, approved during the months of August to December 2020, the company confirmed.
Rolando Romero, general manager of B2B Funding, said since the start of the pandemic, the B2B team has been in constant communication with its clients, seeing how they have done during the crisis and validating their needs.
Although there were several federal grants available such as U.S. Small Business Administration disaster loans, including the EIDL Loan for COVID-19, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund and the Payment Protection Program (PPP), B2B continued working with its client base, he said.
Through its programs, B2B Funding provides its clients with additional money or through temporary modifications in their loan payments, depending on how much the pandemic has affected them, Romero said.
He said businesses with cash flow problems as a result of reduced operating hours and sales volumes, while fixed expenses — water, rent, electricity, etc. — remained the same, received attention.
The average requested of cash advances per business was $30,000, with restaurants leading the list of businesses requesting the aid, he said.
B2B Funding offers its programs and services to other businesses as well, such as retail stores, security companies, grocery stores, pharmacies and others.
“During the pandemic, we kept these types of businesses as clients, and existing clients kept renewing their cash advances. These cash advance programs have been a lifesaver for small businesses, who have suffered the most during the pandemic,” Romero said.
