155 Millennium - Seventeenth Edition For over 40 years, Lonnie Abdul Saboor has served as an expert in small business development. As the director of small business development for Invest Atlanta, an economic development agency located in Atlanta, Georgia, he is responsible for helping the city’s small businesses BUSINESS SERVICES, CONSULTING AND HUMAN RESOURCES LONNIE ABDUL SABOOR DIRECTOR OF SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, INVEST ATLANTA PRESIDENT, OWNER, GLOBAL EXPANSION TEAM Atlanta, GA thrive. Mr. Saboor was also instrumental in reopening Underground Atlanta, a historic Atlanta landmark and entertainment district, in 1989. In this regard, he financed all of the female and minority-owned businesses that helped Underground Atlanta become the thriving hub of shopping and entertainment it is today. Invest Atlanta provided further aid by securing crucial investments from local banks to fund the revitalization effort. Mr. Saboor keeps to his motto, “Another day of opportunity.” During the COVID-19 pandemic, the mayor of Atlanta asked his company to create an approachable loan program; at the time, she was concerned with the survival of the city’s small businesses. With a $1.5 million grant from the city, Mr. Saboor established the Business Continuity Loan Fund, which launched Invest Atlanta as an economic leader in the country. Throughout his career, Mr. Saboor has credited his success to his faith. Maintaining strong relationships with his family and friends has also been crucially important to him and his business, as it is within those relationships that he learned his most important skills — communication and compassion. When he meets with business owners looking to work with Invest Atlanta, he considers himself their associate and personally explains the necessary steps for loan approval, which offers them a higher success rate. Though Mr. Saboor recently retired from Invest Atlanta at the end of 2024, he continues to work at the company on a part-time basis. Likewise, he now operates as the president and owner of the Global Expansion Team. In his retirement, he also intends to consult and participate in speaking engagements, as he hopes to share what he has learned with others, especially young individuals and new small business owners in Atlanta.
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