States across the country now have funds from the government explicitly meant to support small business. If you’ve been waiting for a sign of the state and federal government’s faith in local economies, this might be what you need to prepare for future growth as new opportunities appear. The money is part of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) and has been released in different amounts.
As the Columbus Dispatch recently announced, this is part of an ongoing disbursement that has accounted for more than $55 million total so far through the Ohio Development Services Agency. For Ohio, this round of funding alone brings a total of more than $18.7 million.
The Ohio Development Services Agency website lists the three programs that it directs funds through to support local operations: the Collateral Enhancement, Ohio Capital Access and Targeted Invested programs.
The last of these applies specifically to manufacturing and tech businesses that have already received at least one round of equity funding. The Ohio Capital Access Program (OCAP), by contrast, applies to businesses that “are having difficulty obtaining business loans through conventional underwriting standards.” Businesses that want to qualify for this have to meet certain criteria, such as managing 250 or fewer employees and managing revenues of a maximum of $10 million.
Jeffery Stout, director of the SSBCI, was quoted in the Dispatch article explaining the role of this program.
“Small businesses are the nation’s leading job creators, and the State Small Business Credit Initiative connects sources of capital to the small businesses that need it,” he said.
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