Forza Financial

Forza strives to meet the needs of entrepreneurs by empowering educational opportunities and capital at affordable rates to assist entrepreneurs throughout the business process. Academia, affordable capital, and entrepreneurial talent combine to form strong businesses; strong businesses create strong leaders, and strong leaders produce strong communities. In Fall 2009, a small group of honors students from the University of Alabama set out to research and develop the idea of a domestic microfinancial lending institution in rural Alabama. The Black Belt Region of Alabama, especially, includes some of the poorest counties in the entire nation. The area struggles with poverty, high unemployment rates, inadequate healthcare provisions, and low-quality school systems. However, this region has a thriving network of strong, faith-based communities, comprised of individuals with sincere and unwavering dedication to their community’s betterment, who fuel the region’s economy, which is left almost entirely untouched by franchised business. Since most independent entrepreneurs choose to support their community members directly, small businesses in the Black Belt flourish. Forza is a non-profit organization seeking to empower Alabama’s most underappreciated business and community leaders. The student-run group aims to build a better Alabama, one small business at a time.