0% interest · repaid over 10 months
Circle loans, $300 to $1,200
Six to ten women each pay into a shared pot every month and take turns receiving it. Payments are reported to the credit bureaus, so the circle builds everyone's score.
Market Day Microloans · Raleigh
Small loans for women who already have the business figured out.
$500 to $15,000 at 6% fixed, for women in Wake County with a business, a plan, or a side hustle that has outgrown the kitchen table. No credit score minimum and no prepayment penalty.
- A second chest freezer for tamales
- A braiding chair and hooded dryer
- A commercial mixer for a home bakery
- A generator for a food truck
- An industrial sewing machine
- Booth fees at the State Farmers Market
- A pressure washer and a trailer
- Shelf stock for a beauty supply
- A fence for a licensed home daycare
- Tax software and a notary bond
- A hoop house for cut flowers
- A laptop for a bookkeeping business
Three ways to borrow
Start where you are
6% fixed · 6 to 18 months
Starter loans, $500 to $3,000
For a first piece of equipment or a first big order. Bring a business idea you can explain over a cup of coffee. A written plan is optional.
6% fixed · up to 48 months
Growth loans, $3,000 to $15,000
For businesses at least a year old that are ready for a truck, a lease or a second employee.
Since 2011
What fifteen years of small loans add up to
1,240
loans made to women in Wake County
96%1
of every dollar lent has been repaid
$2,800
median loan size
38%
borrowers who had no credit score when they first came in
- 1Better than most banks' small-business portfolios. Women pay back.
From our audited loan records through June 2026.
A borrower
The bank wanted two years of tax returns. Market Day wanted to see my bookings calendar. I paid off my first loan in eleven months and bought my second chair with the next one.
Circle 31, a Thursday in August
Ten women, one pot, and the best plantains in Raleigh.
Lending circles
Not ready for a loan? Start in a circle.
A circle is six to ten women who meet monthly over supper, put the same amount into a pot, and take turns taking it home. It's the susu, the tanda and the hui, written up properly so the payments count toward your credit.
Most women who later take a starter loan began in a circle.
- Circles of $50, $100 or $120 a month
- Meets one evening a month at our office, with supper and childcare
- Interpreters for Spanish, Vietnamese and French
On the calendar
Dates for your calendar
Oct13
Coffee and questions
6:00 PM · 511 S. Bloodworth St
Bring your questions about borrowing. No appointment, no pressure.
Nov7
Market Day
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM · Bloodworth Street lot
Forty borrower businesses selling food, flowers, clothes and crafts.
Nov10
Lending circle 34 begins
6:30 PM · Our office
Three spots left in a $100-a-month circle.
Dec5
Holiday Market Day
9:00 AM – 3:00 PM · Bloodworth Street lot
Our biggest market, with sixty vendors and carols from the Shaw choir.
Nothing in that category this month.
Plain answers
What women ask before applying
Do I need good credit?
No. We don't use a credit score minimum. We look at how your business is doing and whether the payment fits your budget.
Do I need an ITIN or Social Security number?
Either works. Many of our borrowers use an ITIN.
What does the loan cost?
6% fixed interest and a $25 closing fee. A $2,000 loan over 12 months is $172 a month and costs $66 in interest in total.
What if I can't make a payment?
Call your loan officer before the due date. We pause or stretch payments for illness, a new baby or a slow season.