California Launches $25 Million Small Business Loan Fund

 

California Launches $25 Million Small Business Loan Fund

Funding for this $25.3 million program comes from the U.S. Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative designed to spur investment in businesses with 1-9 employees, small manufacturing companies, and businesses operated by owners from underserved communities.

This program will help underserved small business owners by:

  • Guiding them through the loan application process, spurring the the approval of an estimated 40,000 new business loans over the next five years
  • Building legal, accounting, and financial management skills to access the capital needed to get started and scale
  • Increasing awareness of state-backed capital support programs

Additionally, it will support the deployment of $1.1 billion in federal funding separately approved for capital support programs from the California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank (IBank) and the California Pollution Control Financing Authority. Lenders across the state are expected to leverage the $1.1 billion in funding for existing capital support programs into $18 billion in new loans for small businesses over the next five years.

“California’s 4.1 million small businesses are the backbone of our economy and provide nearly half of the state’s private sector jobs. But too many of them struggle to access the capital they need to grow. This is a historic opportunity to catalyze inclusive economic growth and build a stronger California,” says Tara Lynn Gray, CalOSBA Director.

The Technical Assistance for Capital Readiness network also includes:

Capital Readiness Coaches:

  • Central California SBDC Network
  • Los Angeles SBDC Network
  • NorCal SBDC Network
  • OCIE SBDC Network
  • Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center
  • San Diego & Imperial SBDC Network

Capital Providers:

  • Access Plus Capital
  • AmPac Business Capital
  • California Capital Small Business Financial Development Corporation
  • El Pajaro Community Development Corporation
  • ESO Ventures Inc.
  • Fresno Area Hispanic Foundation
  • ICA Fund
  • Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce Foundation
  • Macedonia Community Development Corporation
  • Main Street Launch
  • PACE Finance Corporation

Equity Advisors:

  • Alliance for Community Development
  • Asian Business Institute and Resource Center
  • ASIAN, Inc.
  • Asociacion de Emprendedor@s
  • California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce
  • Caravanserai Project
  • Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce
  • International Rescue Committee
  • San Francisco African-American Chamber of Commerce
  • West Business Development Center

The Technical Assistance Training Partner:

  • The Center for Strategic Economic Studies and Institutional Development