Wednesday, May 10, 2000
AP Wire

NEW YORK (AP) ÷ Women have long complained that they have trouble getting loans to start businesses. Now they're taking to the Internet to try to get the job done.

On Thursday, dozens of women-oriented Web sites will direct visitors to www.count-me-in.org, which hopes to gather donations as small as $5 for a fund that will underwrite loans to small businesses run by women.

The microcredit program is being launched by Nell Merlino, who started the Take Our Daughters to Work Day with the Ms. Foundation, and Iris Burnett, a former executive of USA Networks.

They hope to raise a multimillion-dollar pool of funds for loans ranging from $500 to $10,000 for women entrepreneurs who want to start or expand small businesses.

"If 1 million women get four friends to give as little as $5, we'll have $25 million we can use to put women in business," Merlino said in a statement announcing the campaign.

Count-me-in loans will carry interest rates ranging from 2 percent to 4 percent over the prime rate, which is the rate banks use for their most credit-worthy customers. That would put the women's loan rate at 11 percent to 13 percent.

The sponsors said applicants will be evaluated for their business potential, rather than their earnings or hard assets.

Among the Internet sites supporting the launch of count-me-in are iVillage.com, Oxygen.com, AOL's Women's Channel, Whoopi.com, WomenCONNECT.com and Women.com.

The new site will begin accepting loan applications in June.