About Us
Mountain BizWorks is a place-based fund focused on the unique opportunities and challenges of small businesses across the Appalachian Mountains region of North Carolina, known as Western North Carolina. All lending decisions are made locally, and all staff are based here in WNC.
View our service areaWe serve the 26 westernmost counties of North Carolina with offices in Asheville and Boone.
Overview
Our orientation sessions are a great way to get the lay of the land at Mountain BizWorks before you set off to create all that you dream!
Save your spotGet what you need–learn with a group of peers in practical business classes or get matched and work 1-on-1 with an expert
Get the small biz funding you need when you need it most–we fund many that'd normally have trouble securing funding
The money you invest, combined with our own capital, creates the pool of funds from which we lend to help small businesses start, grow, and create jobs
How we do it
Since our founding in Asheville in 1989, the region has experienced a pronounced economic transformation from a region based around traditional manufacturers and tobacco farms to an economy increasingly defined by diverse small businesses in sectors like technology, local foods, outdoors, arts, hospitality, and more.
We invest in areas that traditional banks can’t and emphasize serving communities that have often been underserved or overlooked.
Over 80% of our clients are low-income, women, minority, or rural-based entrepreneurs.
Mountain BizWorks is committed to sustaining this small business-led economic development and ensuring its benefits reach all corners and communities of Western North Carolina.
Newsletter
We use our newsletter to keep everyone in the loop on all things small business in the WNC region—from new learning and funding opportunities to events and other ways of investing into the success of our economy.