Four new business funding programs included in the State Small Business Credit Initiative are available to help businesses access credit, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced.
The SSBCI uses federal funding to stimulate private-sector lending and improve access to capital for small businesses and manufacturers that are creditworthy but not getting loans they need to expand and create jobs. The goal is to attract $10 of private investment for each federal dollar invested.
The initiative allocates up to $15.4 million into four state programs:
• The Capital Access Program
• Emerging Entrepreneurs Fund
•Small Business Loan Guarantees
• Early Stage Fund
The Capital Access Program, Emerging Entrepreneurs Fund, and Small Business Loan Guarantees are immediately available. The Early State Fund will roll out in early 2012.
“This is an essential part of helping small businesses grow, adding jobs and getting Minnesotans back to work,” said Mark Phillips, commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, which administers the initiative, in a news release. “We expect the SSBCI to spur more than $150 million in lending to small businesses statewide resulting in more than 3,000 new jobs.”
The SSBCI website is: www.PositivelyMinnesota.com/ssbci.
For more information about the SSBCI or each fund, contact Bart Bevins, loan officer, Business and Community Development, at (651) 259-7424 or (800) 657-3858 or email Bart.Bevins@state.mn.us
DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and our services, visit us at www.PositivelyMinnesota.com.
