Great Small-Business Loans for Women

If you’re a woman who owns a small business, your financing options are no longer limited to bank loans, SBA loans or small-business grants.

There are many choices for small-business loans for women and a host of online small-business lenders that have emerged since the financial crisis hit in 2008.

We’ve rounded up several types of small-business loans for women. We gauged lender trustworthiness, market scope and user experience, among other factors, and arranged them by categories that include your revenue and how long you’ve been in business.

Women-owned businesses can also get help in the early stages through grants provided by government agencies and nonprofit organizations. Here are 10 places to look for small business grants for women.

For women who have poor credit:
Kabbage, OnDeck

OnDeck and Kabbage are two lenders that offer loans to women who have less-than-stellar personal and business finances. Kabbage, for instance, doesn’t just rely on personal credit scores; it approves lines of credits based more on accounting, banking and e-commerce data. The access to capital can be costly, though.

OnDeck: How to qualify

• For a term loan, at least one owner must have a credit score of at least 500. For a line of credit, a majority owner should have a credit score of at least 600.
• You need to have been in business a minimum of one year.
• If you’re applying for a term loan, you should have had revenue of $100,000 or more in the previous year. For lines of credit, you should have had revenue of at least $200,000.
• You cannot have had a personal bankruptcy in the previous two years.
• You’ll need to provide a business tax ID, three months of credit card statements, one to three months of bank statements, a Social Security number and a driver’s license number.

Loan amount: $5,000 to $500,000 APR: 9% to 98% Loan term: Repaid daily or weekly for 3 to 36 months Approval time: Decisions within minutes; funding within 24 hours Notes: OnDeck also offers lines of credits of up to $100,000. Read our OnDeck review.

Learn More Apply on OnDeck’s secure site

Kabbage: How to qualify

• There’s no minimum credit score requirement, and you do not have to back your loan with a personal guarantee.
• You need to have been in business at least one year.
• Your small business must post revenue of at least $60,000 a year.
• You need a business checking account or a PayPal account.

Loan amount: $2,000 to $100,000 APR: 20% to 113% Loan term: Repaid daily or weekly for 3 to 24 months Approval time: Up to several days Notes: Kabbage offers lines of credits. Read our Kabbage review.

Learn More Apply on Kabbage’s secure site

For established businesses that want to expand: SmartBiz, Lending Club

SmartBiz is a quicker alternative to banks offering SBA loans, which typically have some of the lowest rates in the market. The low rates and the 10-year loan term make SmartBiz an attractive option when you want to make major investments to grow your business.

If you don’t qualify for a SmartBiz loan, due to more rigorous SBA requirements, consider Lending Club, which offers competitive rates.

SmartBiz: How to qualify

• There’s no minimum credit score, but most borrowers have at least 600.
• You need to have been in business for at least two years.
• There’s no minimum revenue requirement, but most borrowers report $50,000 to $5 million.
• You cannot have had a bankruptcy or foreclosure in the last three years.

Loan amount: $30,000 to $350,000 APR: 7% to 8% Loan term: 10 years Approval time: Within 7 days after submitting application Read our SmartBiz review

Learn More Apply on SmartBiz’s secure site

Lending Club: How to qualify

• Your credit score should be at least 600.
• You need to have been in business for at least two years.
• Your small business must have annual revenue of at least $75,000.
• If you get approved, you’ll have to submit three months of business bank account statements, an IRS Form 4506T, and business tax returns.

Loan amount: $5,000 to $300,000 APR: 8% to 32% Loan term: 1 to 5 years Approval time: Less than a week for funding Read our Lending Club review

Learn More Apply on Lending Club’s secure site

For women-owned businesses in retail: Dealstruck, Funding Circle

Retail has one of the highest concentrations of women-owned businesses, according to a 2015 report from American Express. And buying inventory requires cash. Dealstruck offers an inventory-specific line of credit that would make sense for retailers, including newer businesses. Funding Circle is a good option for established retailers, retailers that have been in business for at least two years and franchises.

Dealstruck: How to qualify

• You must have a credit score of at least 600.
• You need to have been in business for at least one year.
• Your small business should be profitable with revenue of at least $12,500 a month.
• You need to submit at least three months of business banking statements, two years of business tax returns and one year of personal tax returns.

Loan amount: Up to $500,000 APR: 11% to 22% + prime rate Loan term: 6 months per draw Approval time: Decisions within minutes; funding within 24 hours Read our Dealstruck review.

Learn More Apply on Dealstruck’s secure site

Funding Circle: How to qualify

• You must have a credit score of at least 620.
• You need to have been in business at least two years.
• Your small business needs to have been profitable in at least one of the last two years and have annual minimum revenue of $150,000.
• You cannot have had a bankruptcy in the last seven years.

Loan amount: $25,000 to $500,000 APR: 7% to 26% Loan term: 12, 24, 36, 48 and 60 months Approval time: Less than 10 days Read our Funding Circle review.

Learn More Apply on Funding Circle’s secure site

For startups: Prosper

If you’re just starting a business, raising funds for your new company is likely one of your biggest challenges. Banks and many online lenders do not extend credit to you unless you’ve been in business for at least a year. But Prosper offers personal loans for business purposes. Prosper is a peer-to-peer lender, which means the money actually comes from individual investors.

Prosper: How to qualify

• You should have a personal credit score of at least 640.

Loan amount: $2,000 to $35,000 APR: 6% to 36% Loan term: 3 or 5 years Approval time: Pre-approved in seconds. Full approval and funding in 2-14 days Read our Prosper business loan review.

Get started Apply on Prosper’s secure site

Note that credit cards are another choice for funding a startup. To help decide which better suits your needs, see our comparison of Prosper versus credit cards. And shop around for options using NerdWallet’s business credit cards tool.

Small-business loans for women: The bottom line

If you’re a woman entrepreneur, you won’t run out of financing options for your small business. There are plenty of choices, depending on your financial situation and needs.

Do your homework and check out your options on NerdWallet’s small-business loans comparison tool:

Compare business loans

 

Benjamin Pimentel is a staff writer at NerdWallet, a personal finance website. Email: bpimentel@nerdwallet.com. Twitter: @benpimentel.

To get more information about funding options and compare them for your small business, visit NerdWallet’s small-business loans page. For free, personalized answers to questions about financing your business, visit the Small Business section of NerdWallet’s Ask an Advisor page.

This post was updated. The post originally was published on June 23, 2015.

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