A program was unveiled Friday that's being lauded as a pathway to building new business opportunities for new Americans in the Granite State.The Regional Economic Development Center launched the New Hampshire New Americans Loan Fund program, which it said could make New Hampshire a beacon for job creation. "The New Hampshire New American Loan Fund is a microloan fund, meaning that the funds are $50,000 or under, with interest rates starting as low as 7 percent," said Laurel Adams of REDC. Throughout the term of the microloan, experts will provide technical assistance in accounting and bookkeeping. Business owner Taki Acharya said he knows firsthand what such a loan can do. He was a recipient of a loan in the pilot program and runs an independent insurance agency. "And we were able to create close to 1,000 customers, and we have created at least four full-time employment," he said. Officials said they believe that encouraging first-generation Americans to start businesses is an economic vein that hasn't been tapped enough. "When studying these numbers, we found that, between the last two censuses, New Hampshire would have lost residents if we had not had foreign-born migration," Adams said. From 2010 to 2015, nearly 5,000 residents left the Granite State. But in that time, more than 10,000 international residents moved in. "It is a tool that we can use to tell folks, 'Come to New Hampshire. Be part of what we do here,'" said Will Arvelo of the Division of Economic Development. "We're starting new businesses, we're being innovative and we're thinking out of the box." Anyone interested in applying for a loan can visit the Regional Economic Development Center website. The organization said it hopes to grant six to eight loans in the program's first year.