Univision Targets Loans to Latino Business Owners

The Spanish-language TV channel Univision has launched a new online small-business lending platform.

The bilingual website, called Empresitio, is the product of a partnership between Univision and Biz2Credit, a New York firm that also runs an English-language site where small-business owners can search for and compare loan offers.

The Univision venture is the latest example of a non-financial companymarketing loans to small businesses through an online platform. Sam’s Club, Angie's List and Google have all announced similar offerings in recent months.

In addition to credit offers, the Univision site will also provide financial education resources to Latino small business owners, according to a news release.

"The community we serve is very entrepreneurial and poised for growth," Rick Alessandri, an executive vice president at Univision, said in the news release. "Traditionally, the financing landscape has been difficult to navigate but through this new platform our customers will not only find lending options but also learn how to grow their businesses."

[Coming this November: Marketplace Lending + Investing. Hear how participants in this fast-growth niche are using data and technology to propel lending into the 21st century.]