This Seattle woman wants to know: How can she get those small business grants?

When politicians, including the Mayor of Seattle, stopped by Asha Gobana’s small grocery store in the Rainier Valley this week, Gobana told them she didn’t know how to get the financial aid they advertised.

“Where can I get it? How do I get it? “Asked Gobana. She is the owner of the Balageru International Mart, which sells East African groceries.

Four million dollars is available to businesses like yours as Seattle accepts applications for its sixth round of grants to help small business owners survive the pandemic. The money will be awarded in the form of $ 5,000, $ 10,000, and $ 20,000.

Gobana thought she applied for grants earlier during the pandemic. To cover the costs, she received a government loan from her bank. Some loans were turned into grants and the people who took them out didn’t have to pay them back.

It wasn’t hers. Only $ 3,000 out of $ 13,000 was given and she said she didn’t understand. She fears that she has requested the wrong kind of help.

“I don’t know the system,” said Gobana.

“So you even need help navigating at all?” Asked Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.

Durkan dated Isabella Casillas Guzman, who heads President Joe Biden’s Small Business Administration.

“We’re starting a Navigator program so more locals can connect with companies like you and tell them about the programs you can qualify for,” Guzman said.

Guzman spoke of a new program. But previous efforts to reach out to business owners like Gobana haven’t always worked as well.

Seattle city council member Tammy Morales said the first round of small business loans in Seattle last year went only to English-speaking business owners.

When that happened, she and others called for some changes.

“One of the things we did in the council was to ask them not to open up new opportunities until things were translated. So that was the first step: slow everything down. I know people are eager, but we have to make sure everyone has a chance. “

Today there are applications in eight different languages: English, Amharic, Chinese, Korean, Somaali, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese.

But there’s more to be done, said BJ Stewart of Urban Impact, a nonprofit group that does public relations.

“It takes a really concerted effort from a variety of sources, including those with cultural sensitivity and the ability to translate, to reach everyone,” said Stewart.

What about public relations in the city?

In the short term, the city was unable to provide any figures on how many applications were received in different languages.

But an online dashboard shows which neighborhoods have received the most grants. Most of the scholarships went to the city center. Second place was South Seattle, home to some of Seattle’s most diverse zip codes. Beyond it was Capitol Hill and the Central District.

Politicians were walking through the Rainier Valley because they wanted to know how they could improve the distribution of federal aid.

This is important because as the city provides another round of business stabilization grants, it is tracking how fair that distribution is.

Earlier that day they had visited Philip Nguyen, who owns Rose Street Auto Repair, on Rainier Avenue.

“We used to have five technicians, but now we only have two and that’s all,” Nguyen told officials.

The expenses keep increasing. He pointed to a line of cars behind him. The owners had handed in their cars and couldn’t pay. They’d come back with the money, he said, when they’d scraped it up.

“What could you do with federal aid, the paycheck protection program? asked Guzman, the SBA administrator.

“Well, it helps us keep going,” said Nguyen. “We have to pay out of pocket money to pay the rent.”