Small Business Loan Guarantee Program

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) now offers the Minnesota Small Business Loan Guarantee Program. This temporary program, established in response to the 2020 public health emergency, will help Minnesota lenders provide capital to small businesses in Minnesota affected by COVID-19.

These loans can be used for a variety of purposes and can be subordinate to other financing. Allowable loan uses must be exclusively in Minnesota and include machinery or equipment purchases, maintenance, or repair; expenses related to moving into or within Minnesota; and working capital when the working capital is secured by fixed assets when possible.

 

Available to Minnesota Businesses

The funds can only be provided to Minnesota businesses with fewer than the equivalent of 250 employees. The number of employees includes parent company and all locations. The program will provide an 80% guarantee up to a maximum of $200,000. A fee of .25 percent on the guarantee loan principal will be charged for each loan enrolled into the program.

All loans will be made by lenders enrolled in the program - no loans will come directly from DEED. The guarantee is provided to the lender to help mitigate risk, lending capital is not provided by the program. The lenders' ability to make loans is dependent on each lender's available capital. We are now accepting applications from lenders who would like to participate in the program.