WASHINGTON — The U.S. Treasury Department has announced that Ohio has received $18,743,498 in State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funds to help small businesses access the capital they need to grow and create jobs.
To date, $55,138,373 in SSBCI funds have been disbursed to the Ohio Development Services Agency to support small businesses and the local economy.
“Small businesses are the nation’s leading job creators, and the State Small Business Credit Initiative connects sources of capital to the small businesses that need it,” said Jeffrey Stout, Director of SSBCI. “The funds announced today will continue to support loans and investments in Ohio’s small businesses.”
SSBCI’s most recent Quarterly Report shows that Ohio has deployed $33.6 million in SSBCI funds, and it is among the states that have deployed the most SSBCI funds by dollar amount. Through 2014, business owners in Ohio reported that the program will help them create or retain 6,940 jobs.
The Treasury Department has disbursed more than $1.2 billion in SSBCI funds to participating states, municipalities, and territories since the beginning of the program. SSBCI is designed to help spur new private sector lending or investments in small companies by leveraging the federal support offered by the program. Through 2014, participants were able to generate $7.36 in private sector lending and investments for every $1 of federal support.
SSBCI was created by the Small Business Jobs Act on September 27, 2010. Through SSBCI, the Treasury Department will award nearly $1.5 billion to state programs across the country that support small businesses, including small manufacturers. Each participant designs its own small business programs, and Ohio has established collateral support, capital access, and venture capital programs.
To build on the momentum of the program’s success and capitalize on new working relationships among states and small business lenders and investors, President Obama proposed an extension of SSBCI in his Fiscal Year 2016 Budget request with an additional $1.5 billion in funding. A new authorization of the SSBCI program will keep local economic development efforts strong and allow states to continue supporting small businesses, job creation, and greater levels of private lending and investments.
For information on SSBCI and Treasury’s other small business programs, visit www.treasury.gov/smallbusiness. For information on the SSBCI program in Ohio, visit: https://development.ohio.gov/.
