BY ROHIT ARORA

COMMENTARY

Jim Koch, brewer of Samuel Adams, like any successful business owner, knows the struggles of being a startup. Among the highest hurdles is obtaining funding, especially in a tight credit market.

Koch recently announced Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream, a program that partners with entrepreneurs in the food and beverage industry and provides the tools they need to grow. In creating this program, The Boston Beer Company joined forces with ACCION, the country's leading not-for-profit micro-lending organization and a member of the Biz2Credit lending network.

Boston Beer has invested $250,000 to establish a micro-loan fund with ACCION, which provides capital and other assistance to low and moderate income entrepreneurs whose enterprises might not otherwise be approved for funding by a bank.

Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream also is developing a series of financial literacy seminars to provide business education and is offering advice from its experts to food and beverage entrepreneurs.