Michelin Development Upstate will team with a local bank to provide low-interest loans to new and existing disadvantaged small- and medium-sized businesses. Michelin will provide $1 million in initial funding for the program. The company will also make available its in-house business expertise to participating businesses.
The loans provided through Michelin Development Upstate will be for $10,000 and will have up to five-year payment terms. As the loans are paid back, the money will be made available for loans to more disadvantaged companies.
John Tully, development director for Michelin, said that over the next couple of months he will work with key business, government and community leaders to identify candidates to participate in the program. He will also lead in the establishment of a Michelin Development Upstate Steering Committee to govern the program.
A Michelin Development Upstate website is also under construction and will launch before the program officially kicks off in September.
“We are looking forward to immersing ourselves in the small business community and learning which companies can benefit the most from this unique program,” Tully said. “We will also work with leaders at the local and state level to support these disadvantage businesses, while creating economic growth and job creation in the region.”
The program was announced in Greenville during a news conference attended by a number of dignitaries including former Gov. Dick Riley and Union Mayor Harold Thompson. Thompson welcomed the announcement of what he said will be a great opportunity for local small businesses and entrepreneurs.
“This great for small business, for anybody wanting to start a business or any small business already in existence,” he said. “This is a great opportunity for anybody in our area wanting to start up a small business or for a small business already in operation.
“We need small businesses here in Union, because small business is the backbone of our economy,” he said. “Over the years, small businesses have really driven our economy and created most of the new jobs. These low-interest loans are a big opportunity for small businesses. We try to help small business here in the city but there is only so much we can do. So these loans are going to enhance things a lot, people just have to tap into them.”
Michelin’s Development Program began 20 years ago in France and spread across Europe. Tully opened the first development program in North America in Ontario, Canada, in July 2006. He said the Upstate program will be the first Michelin has implemented in the United States. The second American program will be implemented later this year in Alabama.
“Michelin is proud to announce this program, which will help create jobs, promote economic development and support businesses in the Upstate, an area Michelin has called home for nearly four decades,” Dick Wilkerson, chairman and president of Michelin North America said. “This investment demonstrates Michelin’s ongoing commitment to supporting the communities where we maintain a presence.”
Disadvantaged companies are defined by the U.S. Small Business Administration as those owned by persons from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, including African-Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian-Pacific Americans and others.
In South Carolina, 37,524 businesses or 12.8 percent of all businesses are designated as disadvantaged. According to the U.S. Census Bureau these firms generate $4,511,256 in revenue or just 1.8 percent of the total revenue of all businesses in the state.
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