One of the most pressing issues for Michigan Gov. JenniferGranholm is job creation. To help on that score, her administrationrecently teamed up with the Michigan Credit Union League to providemore small business loans.

Announced Feb. 3 during Granholm's state of the state address,the Michigan Small Business Financing Alliance aims to provideinvestment capital to entrepreneurs. The Michigan league and itssubsidiary, CUcorp, are coordinating the alignment of Michigan's335 credit unions with the state's 12 small business and technologyand development centers to provide access to small businesscapital, Granholm said. More than 30 Michigan credit unions havealready pledged $43 million for small business loans.

By pairing credit union capital with small businesses that havereceived the training and development support from the MichiganEconomic Development Corporation and the centers, as many as 2,150startup businesses in Michigan will receive capital needed toensure their growth and success, according to Granholm'soffice.

The partnership between the league and Granholm's administrationis just one of several initiatives the governor has announced tohelp bolster small businesses in Michigan.