Microlending helps small businesses

    Elvita Francois proudly shows off a shiny new buffet counter at her tiny restaurant inside the Opa-locka Flea Market, where she serves Haitian and Latin specialties like goat, oxtail and congris. As an entrepreneur operating on a shoestring, Francois didn't have the means to buy that counter -- or other equipment like a refrigerator, freezer and stove that she had to replace soon after she drained her savings to purchase Job Restaurant four years ago.
    So she turned to OUR MicroLending, a Miami-based lender and worked out a loan for a little more than $2,000.
    "They helped me a lot," said Francois, 58, who lives in North Miami Beach. "I didn't have money in my hand to even buy food."
     With banks cutting back on lending during the past two years of financial crisis, microlenders are seeing a rise in demand, as small businesses -- the lifeblood of South Florida's economy -- still require credit to keep their businesses afloat.
www.miamiherald.com/2010/07/25/1744376/tiny-loans-propel-big-dreams.html