Vitrina Solidaria launches $100K microloan fund
The Puerto Rico-based fund will offer solidarity loans this summer to graduates of the nonprofit’s business programs.
Nonprofit organization Vitrina Solidaria, with support from the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York (FHLBNY), has launched the Fondo Sol para Empresas Solidarias, a $100,000 microloan fund to provide accessible seed capital to small businesses in Puerto Rico that have completed its entrepreneurship programs. An additional $50,000 was awarded to establish and operate the fund.
Vannesa Piñeiro-Montes, president of Vitrina Solidaria’s board of directors, said Fondo Sol will serve as an alternative financing tool beginning this summer.
“With this fund, we will be able to provide microenterprises with capital to carry out projects that allow them to increase sales or purchase equipment through accessible and solidarity-based financing,” she said. “Often, they are denied traditional loans, and that lack of capital is what can halt the creation or growth of their businesses.”
The microloans will carry interest rates from 8% to 15%, significantly lower than market commercial loans, which can reach 22%.
“The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York is proud to help support Vitrina Solidaria’s efforts to promote entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico and drive local economic growth,” said Alexies Sornoza, vice president of Member Relations and senior business development officer at FHLBNY.
In 2025, the fund expects to award five to 20 loans to businesses that have completed Vitrina Solidaria’s entrepreneurship programs and participate in its retail projects at El Yunque National Forest: La Cabaña La Coca and Torre Yokajú.
A credit committee of three external professionals will set fund policies, review loan applications and make funding decisions. Applicants must submit a Solidarity Business Canvas, an action plan, financial projections and a recommendation from one of Vitrina’s instructors. They must also have completed at least one of the nonprofit’s educational or business development programs.
“For these solidarity-based loans, there will be fewer restrictions than those of commercial banks, but we will still follow sound fund management practices,” said Piñeiro-Montes.
The fund is undergoing certification with the Puerto Rico Office of the Commissioner of Financial Institutions (OCIF, in Spanish) and is expected to begin operating this summer. Vitrina Solidaria also plans to seek certification from the U.S. Department of the Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI).
“We’re very proud because this is the fourth component we aspired to have since Vitrina Solidaria was founded,” said Piñeiro-Montes. “We believe in economic reinvestment. We started with workshops, technical support, a virtual store [and] physical stores — and now, the capital fund. We’ve always promoted alternative funds and models, but having our own that provides seed capital is a giant step forward for us.”
