“HI Now” featuring OHA Mālama Loans recipient Salt + Sea

Posted on Posted in OHA Loans

OHA Mālama Loans supports Native Hawaiian owned businesses and with many struggling during the pandemic, some are showing true resilience and even growth during this time. Salt + Sea Kauai is one of them, but grit is nothing new to the owner.

Native Hawaii business owner Maile Taylor was born and raised on Kauai and is a proud mother of three. Her background is in business sales, and she opened Salt + Sea in 2016 as a vendor in a co-op of boutiques in Lawai.

As her business continued to grow, she opened up her first storefront in Poipu in the Kukuiʻula Shopping Center. In the fall of 2019, she hit a rough patch and turned to OHA Mālama Loans for assistance and was able to rebound. Today, she now has a second location in Kapaa.

Although COVID has been difficult, Taylor still has a strong, local clientele base, and her online sales have grown more than 200 percent. It’s been a stressful and challenging time, but she is counting her blessings and everything she does is to support her family and community.

You can find out more about Salt + Sea at saltandseakauai.com, or on Facebook and Instagram: @saltandseakauai

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs is committed to ensuring Native Hawaiians and their ‘ohana have access to resources to assist them in pursuing their financial goals. Through caring, supportive growth, our lending program can provide Native Hawaiians with an improved sense of economic well-being.

Through these programs, Native Hawaiians have expanded businesses, improved homes, continued their educations and more. The OHA Loan program consist of two programs: the Native Hawaiian Revolving Loan Fund (NHRLF), established in 1985 and funded by and overseen by the Administration for Native Americans (ANA), and the Consumer Micro Loan Program. We have decided to put them under one umbrella, called the OHA Loans Program, so that consumers can find a loan based on their needs more easily.

For those interested in learning more about OHA Mālama Loans, contact us here. The loan process is all done online, and you can also call your neighborhood OHA Office with questions or if you need support with the process.