Mo. to get millions for small-biz lending

March 22, 2011

Mo. to get millions for small-biz lending

ST. LOUIS BUSINESS JOURNAL

The state of Missouri now has access to up to $26.9 million in federal funding that’s expected to generate more than $269 million in new small-business lending in the state.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury said Tuesday that Missouri’s application for funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative, along with those of Vermont and Connecticut, have been approved.

Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon announced the funding approval at 10:30 a.m. today at the Center for Emerging Technologies, 4041 Forest Park Ave. in St. Louis. He also visited Willco Technologies in Kansas City this afternoon.

The SSBCI program supports state-level, small-business lending programs that partner with private lenders and is part of the Small Business Jobs Act signed by President Barack Obama last fall. Use of the SSBCI funds by the three states approved Tuesday is expected to prompt more than $534 million in added small-business lending, the Treasury Department said, creating new jobs.

Missouri expects to generate at least $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding; the state’s $26.9 million SSBCI allocation is expected to support more than $269 million in new private lending.

Missouri businesses can apply for the money starting April 8.

Missouri’s plans to use $16.9 million of the state’s SSBCI funding to establish the high-tech Missouri Innovation, Development and Entrepreneurial Advancement Seed and Venture Capital Funds, or IDEA Funds.

The Missouri IDEA Funds will provide financing for startup and growth of businesses that transfer science and technology into job creation. Financing will be provided throughout the stages of venture growth to give entrepreneurs “continuum of capital” from R&D to commercialization, according to Missouri’s plan.

Missouri’s plan also calls for $10 million of SSBCI funding to go toward the Grow Missouri Loan Participation Fund to grow businesses in the industrial, commercial, agricultural and recreational sectors. To attract new firms and help expand existing ones, that fund provides loans of up to $3 million to businesses of fewer than 500 employees.

More information about SSBCI is available here.