Fresno study aims to make Southeast Asian businesses visible in data, funding decisions

Fresno County's first study of Southeast Asian businesses coming

As the CEO of a federally-certified mission lender in the Central Valley, Access Plus Capital CEO Tate Hill spends his days working to connect entrepreneurs from underrepresented backgrounds to loans and other assistance programs. But until 2023, federal guidelines left Asian communities off the list that lenders like Hill’s organization were allowed to target with much-needed support in Fresno County. That meant groups like Fresno County’s Sout…

Fresno study aims to make Southeast Asian businesses visible in data, funding decisions

A first-of-its-kind study launched Friday aims to ensure Southeast Asian entrepreneurs in Fresno County are seen and counted in funding and policy decisions. The Southeast Asian Business Study was announced at a morning news conference at La Kitchen, a Lao and Thai restaurant that opened five years ago in Southeast Fresno at 6105 E. Kings Canyon Road. Led by Access Plus Capital through its SCALE Fresno program, the study uses a community-centere…