Gov. Evers Announces Federal Approval of Disaster Loans for Small Businesses
23 Mar 2020
Gov. Tony Evers announced today that the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has approved Wisconsin’s request for small businesses affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to access low-interest federal disaster loans.
“This is very good news for Wisconsin businesses that have already suffered financial losses due to the COVID-19 outbreak,” he said. “With the SBA loans now available to our state, small businesses and their employees have a little more certainty over their financial futures. This is another step in providing much-needed assistance to Wisconsin’s small businesses.”
With unprecedented demand for the loans nationwide, processing of the applications may be delayed.
“We are encouraging business owners to reach out to SBA’s partners [mentioned below] and to SBA’s offices with their questions to help the loan application process go as smoothly as possible,” said Wisconsin’s SBA district director, Eric Ness.
Under the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program, businesses and non-profits may qualify for up to $2 million in loans to cover losses resulting from the pandemic. The interest rate on the loans is 3.75% for for-profit businesses and 2.75% for nonprofits. Participants may be able to extend payments for up to 30 years.