Angola council hears plan to broaden Angola Investment Fund lending criteria

Council member McDermott briefed the Angola City Common Council on updated policies and procedures for the Angola Investment Fund at the Dec. 16 meeting, saying the changes are intended to broaden who can access AIF financing and to get the program active at the start of the year.

The updates, McDermott said, modify prior eligibility tied to old NAICS codes and add options the board believes better reflect current local business needs. “The policies and procedures have been updated,” McDermott said. He told the council the board wants to expand who may apply so the fund can be made available to more people after a period of staff and membership turnover over the past two to three years.

Isaac Carr, who the meeting identified as serving on the AIF board, said the fund was originally created around about “30 or so original NAICS codes,” and that the previous rules limited the fund’s ability to address present-day needs. “Really, the old policies and procedures limited our ability to address some of the present day needs versus what we had originally started with,” Carr said. He said part of the board’s proposal is to create a commercial arm for a revolving loan fund and to couple AIF loans with commercial bank financing to improve terms for borrowers.

Council members asked how the fund is publicized and who is eligible. Carr said application materials and details are available in two electronic locations: the City of Angola website and the AIF/EDC site, and that staff hand out materials at business retention meetings. He described the application as similar to a commercial loan packet and said the AIF reviews credit reports and confidential financial materials as part of its process. “It’s almost like a ream of paper,” Carr said of the loan packet.

On eligibility and terms, Carr said the fund can be used only for projects inside the city limits and not in the extraterritorial jurisdiction. He said certain loan products require the business to have operated in the city for one year, while a small entrepreneurial-startup component would allow for startups in a limited way. He also described a pricing approach: AIF loans are intended to be “2% below prime and never below 2%.”

Board members said they plan outreach efforts with the Chamber of Commerce, Realtors, and at “Lunch and Learn” events to make the updated program better known. McDermott told council the AIF board will provide recommendations to the council when it brings specific loan terms or approvals forward; he said no council approval was required for the policy update itself and the presentation was “for your information.”

The council received the update with questions and agreed to assist with publicity as the AIF moves to implement the revised policies and begin accepting proposals in early 2025.