State gets extra $4.3M for small business
The state has received an extra $4.3 million that will be used to help small businesses attract more capital and create jobs as part of a federal initiative.
The Maine Department of Economic and Community Development recently announced it had received the disbursement from the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative. The state’s total allocation for the program is $13.2 million.
Bill Norbert, the spokesman for the Financial Authority of Maine, told Mainebiz in an email that $4 million of those funds have been disbursed so far through FAME’s Economic Recovery Loan Program ($470,000), the Regional Economic Development Revolving Loan Program ($1.26 million) and the Maine Venture Fund ($2.1 million). In all, he said, those disbursed federal funds have helped businesses leverage $36 million in private sector financing.
The DECD cited Lincoln Paper & Tissue as one of the federal initiative's success stories. After receiving a $970,000 loan from FAME’s loan program, the Lincoln business was able to attract an additional $6 million in private investment, which the agency said contributed to the retention of 175 direct jobs. About half of FAME’s loan came from the federal initiative.
"Maine job creators need access to credit and capital in order to create jobs and hire new employees," DECD Commissioner George Gervais said in a prepared statement. "Maine's economic recovery is driven by small businesses and their vision for growth. Small business owners will now have more resources for that growth."
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