D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Nov. 16 that the District is approved to receive $62 million from the U.S. Department of Treasury to provide small businesses with capital that will help them start and expand their business as well as help with administrative costs.
The funding falls under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a product of the American Rescue Plan, and the city’s first portion, $19 million, is available to the District’s Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking (DISB).
“Small businesses are so important for the vibrancy of our city,” the mayor said. “Not only do our small businesses represent the dreams and creativity of Washingtonians, but they also create jobs for D.C. residents and support thriving commercial corridors in neighborhoods across the city. Whether it is through these investments in small business or other investments in infrastructure or resiliency, President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda is building stronger communities and giving more people a fair shot.”
DISB’s $19 million in SSBCI funding will be administered through its DC Business Capital Access Program. The program links District small businesses that are creditworthy but not securing loans from traditional lending sources with access to capital.
Other uses for the $62 million include an effort to launch a DC Venture Capital Program through the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development and a $4 million Inclusive Innovation Equity Impact Fund. The DC Venture Capital Program will work to provide equity seed capital for new District-based technology businesses with underserved founders. The Inclusive Innovation Equity Impact Fund would allow entrepreneurs, who rarely receive conventional funding, to receive funding at the early stages of their businesses.
