PROVIDENCE – Rhode Island has been allocated $6.8 million from the federal government to capitalize and administer Revolving Loan Funds for businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced Wednesday.
The R.I. Commerce Corp. will receive $6 million of the funds and the Providence Business Loan Fund will receive $836,000 of the grants.
Commerce will use the money to oversee an RLF that will provide gap financing and loans to coronavirus-impacted businesses across Rhode Island while the Providence Business Loan Fund will use the money to capitalize and administer an RLF to provide loans to coronavirus-impacted small businesses in the city of Providence.
The grants come from the U.S. Department’s Economic Development Administration in the form of Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act Recovery Assistance grants.
“These investments come at a crucial time to help Rhode Island’s and our nation’s economy come roaring back and provide hardworking Americans with new opportunities,” said Dana Gartzke, performing the delegated duties of the assistant secretary of commerce for economic development, in a statement. “Small businesses are the lifeblood of our communities, and EDA is pleased to invest these CARES Act funds so that Rhode Island businesses have access to capital to respond to and recover from the coronavirus pandemic.”
