Acrecent Financial expands funding capacity P.R’s small, medium-sized enterprises
Acrecent Financial Corporation, a provider of alternative financing in Puerto Rico, confirmed it has closed more than $35 million in new credit facilities and other capital sources, which expands its funding capacity for small and medium-sized enterprises in Puerto Rico.
Acrecent has consistently made credit accessible to local SMEs since its founding in 2004 — despite the global financial crisis, a protracted economic recession in Puerto Rico, and the ongoing government debt-restructuring.
After Hurricanes Irma and María devastated the island and collapsed its electricity grid, capital access became even scarcer for SMEs, the company stated.
“Acrecent increased its focus to serve the Island’s disadvantaged, yet critical and productive sectors, including healthcare, education, construction, hospitality, and clean/renewable energy,” it added in a press release.
Acrecent’s financing platform provided the following capital support to local businesses:
- A rural hospital: $2.5 million to cover power generation costs to provide healthcare services to a community in crisis.
- A professional engineering firm: $7.5 million to expand its staffing to rebuild and certify water-related infrastructures affected by the hurricanes.
- A facility management services company: $1 million in working capital to cover employee liability insurance premiums for hundreds of employees that provide clean-up services for airports, hotels, pharmaceuticals, and banks and other local companies.
In a few months, Acrecent provided more than $38 million to more than 30 local companies, supporting thousands of jobs and helping rebuild a sustainable recovery in Puerto Rico, it confirmed.
The current expansion of Acrecent’s funding capacity is expected to allow it to grow its impact on Puerto Rico’s recovery and offer financial support to local businesses, it added.
“We made a conscious decision to direct our resources to help the Island where our expertise had optimal impact by focusing on long-term community growth,” said James Connor, CEO of Acrecent Financial Corporation.
“Our goal is to provide credit to businesses to protect high-quality jobs. Our expanded credit facilities and capital sources are expected to allow us to be more effective in closing transactions and disbursing funds to resilient businesses who need capital post-devastation,” he said.
“We are confident that providing a firm foothold for well-managed, battle-tested businesses will help stimulate Puerto Rico’s sustained economic recovery,” Connor added.
Funding expansion is aimed at addressing the scarcity of access to alternative credit so businesses can retain and create jobs, rebuild and invest in growth, he concluded.
