Womply, a local commerce platform that provides apps, APIs, marketing and financial tools to more than 500,000 small businesses, has announced an integrated partnership with DreamSpring, a non-profit lender serving entrepreneurs and small businesses. DreamSpring joins Womply’s PPP Fast Lane program, which enables the smallest businesses to access vital Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) funding with as little friction as possible, while helping borrowers remain compliant and minimising program fraud.
PPP Fast Lane was built to service under-served eligible businesses (and workers) that have so far had difficulty accessing the Paycheck Protection Program. These eligible borrowers, which include micro businesses, gig-workers, independent contractors, among others, are frequently found in low-and-middle income and minority communities, making program access all the more important.
PPP Fast Lane is a simple, web-based data collection process aiming to simplify the PPP process by removing friction that only applies to larger businesses. PPP Fast Lane includes multiple layers of fraud prevention and identity verification, which is essential to serving PPP loans at scale in accordance with government rules. Borrowers don’t need a registered business entity, business licence, official place of business, business bank account, accountant, lawyer or business banker to apply for PPP. Immediately after completing PPP Fast Lane, applicants will be matched with their SBA approved lender.
“DreamSpring is dedicated to accelerating access to much-needed capital for small business owners and to amplifying economic inclusion in everything we do,” said DreamSpring Chief Impact Officer, Marisa Barrera. “Our clients are real people whose businesses shape neighbourhoods and communities. They are entrepreneurs of colour creating assets and jobs, residents of rural communities keeping their Main Street alive, immigrants pursuing a cherished dream of being in business, and so many more. We are grateful to partners like Womply who are helping us ensure our clients are on a Fast Lane to PPP funding and to driving economic recovery.”