CLEVELAND (AP) -- Foundations and business leaders in the Cleveland area are launching a program to make available micro-loans of less than $50,000 for small businesses.

The project with the nonprofit Economic and Community Development Institute was being unveiled Tuesday in Cleveland with the first businesses to get the micro-loans. The backers include the city of Cleveland, Cuyahoga (ky-uh-HOH'-guh) County, Huntington Bank and the Cleveland Foundation.

A study of small businesses in Cleveland and its suburbs estimated a demand for $38 million in loans under $50,000.

The institute runs a micro-loan program in Columbus and provides training and technical assistance to small businesses.