The U.S. Department of the Treasury has pledged $97 Million to support Alabama small business.
The move comes through the American Rescue Plan Act’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI).
U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo, said of the funding, “We are helping entrepreneurs across the country unlock access and opportunity, and we’re excited to expand this work to include Alabama’s small businesses – providing collateral, supporting venture capital programs, and reaching communities in need of investment.”
SSBCI makes $97 in funding available
The current administration decided to invest in the SSBCI via the American Rescue Plan. According to the Treasury release, the initiative aims to enhance “business stability, growth, and success.”
$10 billion has been made available to the SSBCI as part of the rescue plan to support small businesses and entrepreneurship in communities across the United States.
The SSBCI aims to fund “states, the District of Columbia, territories, and Tribal governments for those jurisdictions to create tailored programs that offer funding to small businesses and entrepreneurs through equity/venture capital, loan participation, loan guarantee, collateral support, and capital access programs.”
Alabama state’s $97 million investment will focus on operating five individual programs, including a collateral support program, a loan participation program, and two equity/venture capital programs.
The Alabama Collateral Support Program has been allocated $26.9 million. According to the release, this will be used to enhance small businesses’ opportunities to find lenders.
Furthermore, the Innovate Alabama Co-Investment Program will receive $16 million, and the similarly named Innovate Alabama Fund-of-Funds Program will receive $9 million.
Both aim to support equality between venders and start-ups that may traditionally be overlooked by lenders, including venture capitalists. These include female-owned businesses and minority entrepreneurs.
The allocated funds aim to support those “located in Alabama’s distressed communities, as well as venture capital funds dedicated to reaching underserved businesses.”
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