SomerCor CEO Celebrates Big Milestones for Nonprofit Small Business Lender
November 2023 marks five years at the helm of SomerCor for President & CEO, Manuel "Manny" Flores. This service anniversary was a great time to look back at company accomplishments and plan what's next.
Q: Describe your organization.
A: SomerCor is a leading, non-profit Small Business Administration (SBA) lending company. Through the SBA 504 loan program, we help small businesses buy, build, and refinance commercial real estate and fixed equipment. We also administer two economic development grants for the City of Chicago. Our mission is to provide excellent customer service that enables small business investment, job creation, and community growth.
Q: Who do you serve?
A: SomerCor is headquartered in Chicago. We are authorized to lend throughout Illinois and select counties in Southeast Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana. We support start-ups to more established businesses that range from small retail shops to state-of-the-art manufacturing companies. We partner with private lenders to finance these projects. Banks and credit unions count on us to help navigate the SBA 504 lending process.
Q: What notable milestones has SomerCor achieved over the last five years?
A: In 2022, SomerCor celebrated 30 years of service. We have deployed more than $1.74 billion in SBA loans to 3,827 businesses, leading to the creation of 46,884 jobs in 1,777 communities. We celebrated our birthday by relocating our headquarters to the historic Rookery Building located in Chicago's financial district.
Despite small businesses facing unprecedented challenges, SomerCor is a proven steadfast lending partner. In the last three years we originated more than $100MM dollars in loans each year, a first in company history, helping many entrepreneurs overcome an adverse business environment.
When I started my role as Chief Executive Officer, I laid out a vision to elevate SomerCor's standing in the market and to expand our service area into neighboring states. In 2021, SomerCor secured the prestigious Accredited Lenders Program (ALP) lending status from the SBA. Additionally, the SBA recently expanded our lending authority into Southeast Wisconsin and Northwest Indiana.
Q: What is in store the next five years for SomerCor?
A: Access to capital remains elusive for many small businesses, especially minority and women-owned businesses, and rural enterprises. Additionally, we are seeing a tightening of credit generally because of ongoing adverse economic conditions affecting conventional lenders.
I see the need as call for SomerCor to develop new financing options and grant programs to help fill gaps in the capital markets. We will continue to grow our flagship SBA 504 lending, but we will complement this program with another SBA loan called Community Advantage - a smaller dollar term-loan that can be used for working capital. We are also exploring lines of credit and new grants to help small businesses get to a point where they can access conventional financing.
Q: What are you most proud of from your five years of service at SomerCor?
A: I am most proud of my team and how they all stepped up to the plate during the pandemic. Despite the challenges we faced, SomerCor team members went the extra mile to help clients and lending partners. We not only served our clients when they most needed help, we also achieved historic company goals. It is a personal honor and privilege to serve along my SomerCor family.