The Washington State Department of Commerce announced in a release today the launch of the first of five planned small business loan and investment programs. The initiative looks to foster more access to capital for small businesses in the state — especially ones that have historically been underbanked or underserved.
“Access to capital is one of the major challenges for small businesses, particularly those in historically underserved and underrepresented communities,” said Mike Fong, director of the Washington State Department of Commerce, in a press statement. “These innovative loan programs will help fill this funding gap and have a multiplier effect that benefits local economies across the state.”
The funding — $163 million in total — comes from the U.S. Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative. The programs are managed by Commerce.
The first two SSBCI programs, the Small Business Flex Fund 2 and the Owner-Occupied Commercial Real-Estate Loan Program — for which there are $63 million and $25 million designated, respectively — can now be applied for.
Get more details about each here.