Main Street Monday – Connecticut Launches a New Small Business Loan Fund
August 1, 2022
Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor
Main Street Monday – Connecticut Launches a New Small Business Loan Fund
“We’re thrilled to launch the Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund, a new collaboration with private sector partners and investors that will provide companies and nonprofits the working capital they need to grow and thrive,” Governor Lamont says. “This fund was established to support small business owners who may have previously experienced barriers to accessing financial support and works with and through community lenders that are dedicated to equitable lending practices.”
In Connecticut, Governor Ned Lamont announced the launch of the Connecticut Small Business Boost Fund. This program provides low-interest loans to small businesses and nonprofits in Connecticut. Loans will range from $5,000 to $500,000 and a fixed 4.5% interest rate. Applications are being accepted now.
For eligibility, small businesses must have 100 or fewer full-time employees and annual revenues of less than $8 million. After applying online, qualifying applicants will be matched with a lender that will assist the business owner throughout the process. The model follows other successful lending programs in states like California, New York, and Washington.
Connecticut is making a foundational investment of $75 million, and the state aims to lend $150 million or more to eligible small businesses and nonprofits. Eventually, the goal is for this fund to become self-sustaining as more private funds are invested in it.
In collaboration, Community Development Financial Institutions and lenders with decades of experience serving historically under-resourced and underbanked communities will participate in the program, including:
• Ascendus
• Capital for Change
• HEDCO
• NDC Community Impact Loan Fund
• Pursuit
• Southeaster CT Enterprise Region
The National Development Council is administering the program and Calvert Impact Capital is arranging funding. Citizens Bank, M&T Bank, and First Republic Bank contributed funding along with the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development.
“As part of Citizens’ Economic Opportunity Funds initiative, this effort will harness the bank’s resources to help drive real and lasting progress for small businesses and nonprofit organizations in the Connecticut community,” Reza Aghamirzadeh, head of community development at Citizens Bank, says. “Creating access to capital and thus improving opportunity for those in the communities we serve represents a further step toward achieving necessary change in a way that aligns strongly with our values.”