Minnesota Emergency Loans

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Following Executive Order 20-15, DEED has established a loan program to assist small businesses directly and adversely affected and whose industry is named in Executive Orders 20-04 and 20-08 following the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses are a vital part of Minnesota’s economy and this program will provide a source of working capital to help businesses sustain operations during this challenging time.

 

Terms

Loans will:

  • Range from $2,500 to $35,000 and will be based on the firm’s economic injury and the financial need
  • Be interest-free
  • Be paid back monthly over five (5) years and the first payment will be deferred six (6) months
  • Partial forgiveness may be available
  • Be provided to only Minnesota-based businesses

 

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for a Small Business Emergency Loan, a business must be able to demonstrate that it was directly and adversely affected by the conditions that precipitated the emergency declaration as noted in Executive Orders 20-04 and 20-08.

 

The following type of businesses noted in those Executive Orders are eligible:

  • Restaurants, food courts, cafes, coffeehouses, and other places of public accommodation offering food or beverage for on-premises consumption, excluding institutional or in-house food cafeterias that serve residents, employees, and clients of businesses, child care facilities, hospitals, and long-term care facilities.
  • Bars, taverns, brew pubs, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, clubs, and other places of public accommodation offering alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption.
  • Hookah bars, cigar bars, and vaping lounges offering their products for on-premises consumption.
  • Theaters, cinemas, indoor and outdoor performance venues, and museums.
  • Gymnasiums, fitness centers, recreation centers, indoor sports facilities, indoor exercise facilities, exercise studios, and spas tanning establishments, body art establishments, tattoo parlors, piercing parlors, businesses offering massage therapy or similar body work, spas, salons, nail salons, cosmetology salons, esthetician salons, advanced practice esthetician salons, eyelash salons, and barber shops. This includes, but is not limited to, all salons and shops licensed by the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners and the Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners.
  • Amusement parks, arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, indoor climbing facilities, skating rinks, trampoline parks, and other similar recreational or entertainment facilities.
  • Country clubs, golf clubs, boating or yacht clubs, sports or athletic clubs, and dining clubs.

 

To qualify, the businesses must:

  • Be current on financial obligations as of March 1, 2020
  • Be an existing small business (whatever the form of their organization)
  • Have been operating in Minnesota long enough to demonstrate financial viability
  • Be willing to provide collateral or personal guarantee for at least 20% of loan 
  • Be unable to qualify for a standard loan through a bank, credit union, or nonprofit lending organization
  • Pay-off the emergency loan if financing is received subsequent to loan approval.

 

Loans cannot be provided to businesses that:

  • Derive income from passive investments without operational ties to operating businesses
  • Primarily generate income from gambling activities
  • Generates any part of its income from adult-oriented activities
  • Have no current or historical financial statements

 

Apply

The application should be made directly through a certified nonprofit lender. If a lender doesn’t have the capacity, the lender may ask DEED for assistance.

All applicants must supply historical and projected financial information for the business, as well as a personal financial statement for each owner who holds at least a 20% interest in the business. Lenders may ask for this financial information and other information required to process the loan, including permission to pull credit reports, after the initial application is submitted.

Complete the Initial Application and submit to one of the following certified lenders that serves the county where the business is located. The fastest way to receive a response to applications and questions is to email a lender. Most lenders are currently being staffed remotely.

 

Post-Approval

If a loan is approved, businesses should expect to provide the following legal documents and other information prior to receiving loan funds:

  • Loan Agreement
  • Promissory Note
  • Security Agreement
  • Personal Guarantee(s)
  • Industry-specific data regarding business operations prior to the emergency declaration

 

Contact

Several loan officers will be reassigned to this initiative. All will answer questions sent to ELP@state.mn.us.

If you need assistance in Spanish at LEDC we are here to help you, contact our Business Development department and we will answer your questions, write to us at bizsupport@ledcmn.org

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