Idaho Couple Uses CDFI Loans to Grow Local Meat Processing Business
Client: El Rancho Meat Processing
Client Location: Oakley, ID
CDFI: MoFi
CDFI Service Area: ID, MT, OR, UT, WA, WY
Small business financing, with support from the Finance Justice Fund (New Window)
Oakley, Idaho, may be cattle ranching country, but locally produced beef was almost impossible to find until Rogelio Magana came along. He knew his neighbors would buy locally produced meat if they could get it, and he had the skills to make it happen. He had worked in a meat processing facility in Colorado when he first moved to the United States from Michoacan, Mexico, decades earlier.
Rogelio also knew of a defunct butchering facility attached to a local grocery store that would make a perfect location for his new meat processing business.
Although he and his wife, Maria, already owned their own trucking company, they were seeking a change. They consistently had trouble hiring enough drivers, and Rogelio was eager to find work that kept him off the road and closer to home. The entrepreneurial couple soon decided to embark on their new business venture.
When their offer on the old butchering facility was accepted, they sold their fleet of trucks and invested the proceeds into renovations. They also took out a home equity loan to cover the remaining start-up costs. However, those costs added up more quickly than expected, and the Maganas found themselves without enough capital to finish the job.
They went to multiple banks for help but were consistently denied funding. They feared they might lose everything they’d invested, which was their entire life savings. Fortunately, one of the bankers who couldn’t help them with financing was a long-time partner of MoFi (New Window) and suggested they give this community development financial institution (CDFI) a call.
MoFi was able to provide them with $50,000 in financing to complete their renovations and purchase the equipment they needed to get started. The business took off immediately, and by the next year they returned for another $50,000 to expand and upgrade their freezer to accommodate the business growth.
At first, Rogelio and Maria did everything themselves, but with the growth and success of their business, they’ve been able to hire five full-time employees and one part-time employee.
They are thrilled to serve their community by providing high quality, locally sourced meat, all while building connections between consumers and ranchers, and a greater appreciation for the land that sustains and nourishes them all.
Rogelio was effusive about the funding he received from MoFi and what it has done for him, his family, and his community: “I’d give MoFi 100 out of 100 and something higher if I could. Banks won’t lend money to an idea, but you did. You’re the only reason we’re here. You saved us.”
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