Training and individual consulting to help small businesses and entrepreneurs create and expand new enterprises are essential. Business assistance organizations, such as public and nonprofit technical assistance providers and loan packagers, play a critical role in helping small business owners and entrepreneurs gain access to private capital and become successful.

In conjunction with CEDLI, CARAT offers the Post Loan Business Assistance Program which is a linked lending and technical assistance program. Program details and the process for a borrower are provided in our customer brochure. The purpose of the program is to mitigate risk related to CEDLI's portfolio of co-lending borrowers. The program design contributes to the building of capacity within the technical assistance arena. As indicated in its name, the emphasis is on post loan versus pre-loan business assistance. The strategy employed involved developing a software based financial management tool for use by small business consultants/staff of community-based organizations to ensure consistency in output, predictability in outcome and the delivery of quality services to the business clients.

The initial focus of the post loan business assistance is in area of financial management. The program components include researching existing linked technical assistance and lending models, identifying appropriate software applications, training staff of organizations on the use of the software application and the interpretation of the results of the financial analysis. CARAT monitors the quarterly intervention activity between the small business borrower and the post loan consultant and reviews the financial management reports that are generated for the borrower and CEDLI.

• Small business clients - the small business owners gained enhanced skills in the financial management of their companies and aid business growth.
• Financial Institutions - the financial institutions gain a stronger customer base
• Technical assistance providers - the technical assistance organizations become more skilled and proficient in their service delivery.