Borrower Profiles

In 2021 due to threats against her and her livelihood and safety, Bushra Hussein was forced to leave her home country of Iraq. Leaving behind all she knew and everything she had, including her restaurant businesses, she sought refuge in…

La Crepe a Moi started with a couple who found love in Paris, and moved on to open a crepe business in Berkeley, California. In 2009, DJ and Rebecca Dahmani sold their crepes at farmer’s markets across the Bay Area…

Edward Jones, owner of Wonder Philly fell in love with cooking by watching his mother in the kitchen. As an adult he went on to work at a restaurant where he studied the art of cooking and was inspired to…

Istanbul Hawaii is a popular restaurant located in Kaka’ako, Hawaii. Their Mediterranean menu reflects Turkey’s mosaic culture by way of local ingredients. “If you are going out to eat, just to eat, I don’t think you are alive yet. ……

Mills Stoval and his wife Kamalei, a local native Hawaiian, opened Waimea Butcher Shop in 2017. Waimea Butcher Shop is a specialty whole animal butcher shop and deli in Waimea, Hawai`i, that specializes in local grass-fed beef, pork, lamb, and…

Rob Barreca, owner of Farm Link Hawaii, thought it was unbelievable that every time he delivered to restaurants in town from his farm Cultured Hawaii in Waialua, he’d see neighboring farmers doing the exact same thing. “We just drove the…