Either to start a new business idea, develop a product or expand your company, access to capital is of the utmost importance to make it a reality.

"There is a great need for access to capital for different types of industries," said Julio Fuentes, president and executive principal of Florida State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (FSHCC).

In fact, according to a Stanford Graduate School of Business study, 70% of the money used by Latin businessmen in the United States to start a business comes from personal savings, while only 6% comes from commercial loans.

Denisse Rodríguez Colón, director of Colmena66, Program of the Trust for Science, Technology and Research of Puerto Rico that connects entrepreneurs with the resources they need to boost their businesses, explained that there are different access alternatives to capital access to capital.The most appropriate for your business depends on what type of company is and at what stage of its development it is.

Next, we present some money access alternatives for your business:

Crowdfunding

It consists of raising small money donations through the Internet to collect the desired amount. Como no son préstamos, no requieren repago ni verificación de crédito, por lo que es una opción ideal para negocios en sus primeras etapas. Algunas plataformas de financiación colectiva son Kickstarter, enfocada en emprendimientos creativos; Indiegogo, para proyectos comunitarios, creativos y tecnológicos, y GoFundMe, para negocios de todo tipo.There is also Kiva, which works in a similar way, but instead of donations, users contribute money for a loan at 0% interest.

Subsidies and competences

Request subsidies or grants to government entities and the third sector is another option to obtain money that should not be repaired. Un ejemplo es el programa Pymes Innovadoras, del Departamento de Desarrollo Económico y Comercio, que otorga subvenciones de hasta $100,000.

También se puede participar en competencias de negocios que ofrezcan premios en efectivo, como EnterPRize, de Grupo Guayacán, en la que participan empresas emergentes que llevan al menos un año en operaciones, las cuales compiten por hasta $50,000 en premios para capital semilla.

Preaceating and acceleration

These are programs that provide entrepreneurs a seed capital in conjunction with business training and mentoring with experts.As with subsidies and competencies, these programs need to meet certain requirements to participate.Preaceating, like the one offered by Startup.PR, based in Gurabo;and PRE18, from the parallel accelerator18, help businesses that have at least a developed idea or a prototype.On the other hand, the acceleration, such as the one offered by the Rising Entrepreneurs program, of the Bravo Family Foundation and Parallel18, is more aimed at startups that aspire to grow their businesses inside and outside the island.

For Rodríguez, having the seed capital offered initiatives like these makes a big difference."Many, when they undertake, do so on the side, while maintaining other jobs, and having the equivalent of a salary to dedicate yourself to the business, that is Game Changing, especially for businesswomen women," he said.

Bank loans

De acuerdo con la portavoz de Colmena66, “si es una microempresa con cinco empleados o menos, ahí los préstamos a microempresas y préstamos comerciales tradicionales son buenos porque no piden un porcentaje de participación de la empresa y tienen una tasa de interés fija”.These are alternatives offered in banks and cooperatives, which require credit and income verification, so it is vital that the business has its finances and documents in order.

To close that gap between the bank and Hispanic businesses in Florida, the FSHCC developed the Access Florida Capital program, in which the organization receives SME requests and sends them to its bank partners to see which one is interested in approveing a loan of up to $ 250,000Fuentes reported.

Other alternatives are the loans offered by the Small Business Administration through banks and cooperatives, which have lower interest rates and less requirements.

Community Development Financial Institutions

These are financial entities, non -profit, which serve disadvantaged communities and with little access to traditional banking. Algunas, como Pathstone Enterprise Center y Latino Economic Development Center –ambas con presencia en la isla y en Estados Unidos–, ofrecen préstamos a microempresas y pymes.

Angel Investors

When the business already has customers and traction in the market, you can resort to angels investors. Estos son o fueron empresarios y quieren invertir en otros emprendimientos a cambio de un porcentaje de participación.They also become mentors of their new partners. Hay redes de inversionistas ángeles en la isla, como Ausubo Ventures, Aurora Angel Network y Puerto Rico Capital Network.Hive66 usually refer to companies that may interest them.

Risk capital and private capital signatures

Las primeras (venture capital) suelen invertir en startups con potencial de crecimiento, mientras que las segundas (private equity) buscan negocios más maduros.For example, in the first line is Morro Ventures, which is concentrated in technology companies, and in the second is Semillero Ventures, focused on agroindustrias.