The City of Chicago’s Small Business Center (SBC) has partnered with The PrivateBank to make entrepreneurs who complete the city’s Business Start-Up Certificate Program eligible to apply for low-interest and no-fee loans through the bank’s Entrepreneurial Loan Program. The city’s free certificate program is designed to educate business owners and entrepreneurs on the essential elements of opening and growing a business. Business Start-Up Certificate Program participants must complete a curriculum of business education workshops, which consists of nine workshops that must be completed within six months of attending their first workshop. The first session will run from January 2016 through June 2016 and the second session is from July 2016 through December 2016. Program participants who complete the curriculum will now qualify to apply for The PrivateBank Entrepreneurial Loan. This low-interest, no-fee loan can range from $1,000 to a maximum of $10,000 for new businesses and $25,000 for businesses with one-year of filed tax returns. All financing decisions are made by the bank. The SBC hosts free workshops every Wednesday afternoon and Friday morning in Room 805 at City Hall, 121 N. LaSalle St., Chicago. To register for a workshop or for more information, call 312.744.2086 or email BACPoutreach@cityofchicago.org. Learn more about the Small Business Center programs, workshops and expos by visiting, www.cityofchicago.org/SBC.