NJEDA Begins Accepting Micro Business Loan Program Applications

On Dec 19, 2019

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) is now accepting applications for its Micro Business Loan Program. Designed to provide financing to early-stage and micro businesses in New Jersey, the pilot program makes financing of up to $50,000 available to for-profit New Jersey businesses, who can use the financing for working capital or to purchase equipment.

To ensure that the financing is accessible to the early-stage and micro businesses that need it most, to qualify, a business must have annual revenues of less than $1,500,000 in the most current fiscal year, and cannot have more than 10 full-time employees at time of application. Startup businesses may be eligible for financing, but must first demonstrate that they have completed an entrepreneurship training program or Small Business Development Center counseling sessions.

“The new Micro Business Loan Program will help to fill a gap in the NJEDA’s suite of resources by enabling us to offer low-cost financing to very small, often early-stage companies,” said NJEDA Chief Executive Officer Tim Sullivan. “Improving access to capital and supporting micro businesses as they grow, create jobs, and invest in our communities is critical to building a stronger, fairer New Jersey economy.”

The Micro Business Loan Program will operate as a pilot program for a period of up to three years from the date applications were made available to the public, or until the $1,000,000 total funding pool is fully exhausted.

Last month, Murphy signed Executive Order #91, establishing a Public Bank Implementation Board, which will be tasked with planning the development of a public bank for the Garden State. Under Governor Murphy’s vision for a public bank, public funds could be directed toward reducing unmet community capital needs. The Micro Business Loan Program will serve as the initial demonstration project for how a public bank could serve to make financing available, at a low-cost and with flexible terms, to early-stage businesses that may have difficulty accessing conventional bank financing.

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