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We are excited to announce that, earlier this year, the State of Florida secured nearly half a billion dollars in loan funding specifically targeted for Florida small businesses and entrepreneurs. 142 million dollars of the total $488 million is available right now to fuel small business growth, and we need your help in getting the word out.
The Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is administered by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity to promote small business lending, support small business growth within Florida, and create jobs that support families and build strong economies. SSBCI can help businesses in any industry access credit for any business purpose even if they don’t have much collateral, are in a rural area, are very small, or are new.
There are several loan options available to meet the needs of the individual businesses, including:
Collateral Support Program: Enables financing that otherwise might be unavailable due to collateral shortfall.
Loan Participation Program: Supports a private loan by either acting as a companion loan or purchasing a portion of a loan already made by the private lender.
Loan Guarantee Program: Guarantees a loan or line of credit for eligible small businesses.
*Note: Not all lenders will have each loan type available and final lending decisions are based on the lender’s criteria.??
Will you please share this information with your community at upcoming events and workshops? If you would like to partner to host a community presentation or virtual information session, please let me know and we can schedule a date that works for your organization. We are looking to schedule events for June and would love the opportunity to do so.
If you have any additional questions about SSBCI or would like to schedule a meeting within the next few days please let me know.
Thank you,
Trevor Beards State Small Business Credit Initiative
Trevor.beards@deo.myflorida.com