Accion Opportunity Fund expands equipment financing with $350K leases

Accion Opportunity Fund has expanded its equipment financing strategy beyond long-haul trucks, offering leases of as much as $350,000 and using dealer and manufacturer referrals to reach small businesses that often struggle to secure bank credit. 

The nonprofit community development financial institution began financing long-haul trucks and trailers for owner-operators in California in 2012 and has since deployed nearly $700 million in the segment, President and Chief Executive Luz Urrutia told Equipment Finance News. In 2025, AOF expanded the strategy by launching an equipment leasing program with an established industry lender, which it did not identify. 

The program finances revenue-generating assets including restaurant ovens, kitchen and medical equipment, food trucks, medium- and light-duty trucks, manufacturing equipment and point-of-sale systems, Urrutia said. 

“We don’t make loans for equipment that is not generating revenue for the business,” she said. 

About 85% of the trucks AOF has historically financed have been in California, but the lender is expanding its trucking finance activity into Indiana, Texas, Florida and Georgia, Urrutia said. 

Dealer, manufacturer referrals drive volume 

AOF sources much of its equipment finance business through referral partners, dealers and manufacturers rather than marketing directly to individual borrowers, Urrutia said. The approach allows AOF to reach a borrower through the seller or other partner when the business is preparing to acquire equipment. 

Manufacturer referrals led AOF into custom mobile food truck financing after builders reported losing sales because customers could not obtain funding, she said. AOF now provides progress payments — staged disbursements made as a custom vehicle is built, similar to draws on a construction loan. 

AOF also began offering trucking equipment leases that do not require a down payment, according to its fiscal 2025 annual report. The product gives customers 18 to 30 months to establish their businesses and revenue streams before committing to purchase the equipment. 

Cash flow supports underwriting 

Businesses AOF commonly serves have at least $300,000 in annual revenue, two years in operation and credit scores of 660 or higher that seek less than $100,000, Urrutia said.  

Loan size and collateral type can limit their access to bank financing. Also, a restaurant oven, refrigerator or mobile food truck may generate revenue but does not represent the type of secondary repayment source banks generally prefer, she said. 

AOF treats business cash flow as the primary repayment source and financed equipment as the secondary source, Urrutia said. The lender also sometimes uses financial data platform Plaid to track changes in borrowers’ cash flow. 

The CDFI model is intended to help borrowers establish credit before moving to a traditional lender, but that transition frequently does not occur, Urrutia added. 

“We give them their first loan, we get them on their way, and nine times out of 10, as these businesses grow and go into a bank, the bank still says no,” she said. 

AOF originated $135.2 million in fiscal 2025, up 39% year over year, with an average loan size of $50,916, according to its annual report. Its managed portfolio totaled about $226 million. 

Higher equipment prices and borrowing costs have increased customers’ focus on monthly payments and financing terms, Urrutia said. 

“Flexibility and affordability matter just as much as the availability of financing,” she said. 

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