African Development Center

For eight years, Hussein Samatar had to say “no” to the African entrepreneurs who came to him for funding. As a corporate banker at Wells Fargo Bank Minnesota, Samatar saw a number of potential business owners come to the bank loaded with passion and enthusiasm, but lacking business plans, credit histories or sometimes even a basic understanding of the American finance system.

Samatar decided there had to be some way to create opportunities for these entrepreneurs and start saying “yes.” For two years, he spoke with members of the immigrant community and worked with four others to create an organization, the African Development Center (ADC) of Minnesota, which finally opened its doors in 2004.

“In speaking to those in the community, we realized that there’s a long way to go in terms of helping business owners and teaching people about finances,” Samatar said. “But now, we feel like we have a strong start.”

The ADC of Minnesota is meeting a need that’s been getting stronger for more than a decade. Since 1990, there has been a 700 percent increase in the number of African refugees moving to Minnesota. Some of those coming to the state were business owners in their native countries and wanted to explore their entrepreneurial side here. But limited credit and lack of expertise about how to get financing have forced them to work for other people.

“Immigrants come to the ADC looking for support, and we feel that the best thing we do is help them tap into their creative potential,” Samatar said. “Because of that, we feel that we elevate the standard for the community.”

The ADC found its footing in 2004 by taking advantage of West Bank Community Development Corp.‘s donation of office space. The agency is now able to pay rent for the space.

ADC staff initially worked to raise awareness of the organization, bringing in sponsors such as The McKnight Foundation and The St. Paul Foundation, as well as partners such as Wells Fargo, Triangle Park Creative and the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.

Since its inception, one of the organization’s biggest challenges has been in translating the founders’ vision — helping to create a self-sufficient African immigrant community — into the mechanics of daily operations. In an effort to educate the community on business and personal financial issues, the ADC developed classes and programs around home ownership and business development that taught skills such as cash-flow projections and business-plan creation.

Another issue has been establishing itself within the community and helping immigrants aim high, said Stephen Wreh-Wilson, outreach coordinator at ADC.

“Many times, when people come here, they have an entrepreneurial attitude, but they get into the mindset of being employees,” he said. “They don’t know that there are resources and opportunities that can help them.”

Wreh-Wilson hopes that by helping African-run businesses get started, it will not only boost a larger sense of ownership, but also bring a sense of economic self-sufficiency to the immigrant and refugee communities.

The first entrepreneur the organization assisted was Thomas Rose, an immigrant from Sierra Leone who had owned a restaurant and nightclub in his native country.

Rose had an idea for making boxed African dinners to be sold through Minnesota grocery stores. He had gone to a number of banks asking for a conventional loan, but got rejected because he didn’t have a well-formed business plan and because he is a refugee, with U.S. citizenship still in the works.

“They wouldn’t touch it, although they agreed that the idea for the business was a good one,” Rose said.

One banker suggested Rose contact Kris Maritz, a business analyst at the ADC who gave classes in business development. After deciding that Rose’s company would be a great first project for the ADC, Maritz and Hussein worked with him on putting a business plan together, and then began talking to banks about the idea.

It took more than 60 hours to put a deal together, Hussein remembered, because banks weren’t familiar yet with the ADC.

With $90,000 in funding from a consortium of lenders, Rose was able to get his business, Nice Foods, off the ground in January 2005. The company produces foods such as stewed greens and goat soup. The packaged dinners are already available in Lunds and Byerly’s, and in August, Cub Foods agreed to test the product.

“I’d spent all of my family’s savings,” Rose said. “I also had some credit-card debt in trying to get the business started. The ADC helped me at a crucial time. They were instrumental in creating opportunity for me. I think, too, that they will do the same for many others. They help people that are left out because they’re in the fringes of the community.”

Since helping Rose, the ADC has assisted Minneapolis-based businesses Safari Auto Repair and Al Saadaa Boutique. The organization is working with several other entrepreneurs to help with financing, zoning and credit.

As it moves forward, the ADC plans to build a community forum that will either be conducted online or as a series of scheduled meetings.

Whatever its future direction, the organization will be careful to make sure it’s useful for the community, Samatar said. “We’ll be here as long as we’re adding value. We have to be meaningful.”

Minneapolis / St. Paul Business Journal – by Elizabeth Millard Contributing writer