Small Business First Loan
The loan eligibility requirements for this program are outlined as follows:
Type of Business
Eligible businesses include For-Profit Manufacturing, Industrial, Agricultural Enterprise, Agricultural Producer, Child-Day Enterprise, Computer-Related Services, Construction Enterprises, Defense Conversion, Hospitality Enterprises, Industrial, Manufacturing, Recycling, Research & Development.
Businesses must have less than 100 employees worldwide at the time of application to be eligible.
The hospitality and construction industry sectors may need to posess or provide additional pre-qualifying criteria required for loan application.
Maximum Loan Amount.The maximum amount of funds from this program is 50% of a project or $200,000 (whichever is less). Working Capital Loans are capped at $100,000 or 50% of the total project costs.
Use of Loan Proceeds.Loan proceeds may be applied to land and building, machinery and equipment or working capital.
Interest Rate. The interest rate on this loan program is below the market rate. The current interest rate is a fixed rate of 4% over the life of the loan.
Repayment Schedule-The repayment duration for real estate is up to 15 years, machinery and equipment is up to 10 years and working capital is up to 3 years.
Matching Funds - Allows land and building as well as machinery and equipment purchases made within a 12 month period prior to the filing of an application to be eligible as the private match towards an SBF loan.
Loan Program Requirements.
Job Creation - One permanent job must be created per $25,000 NEPA dollars loaned.
Location - The project must be located within the seven Pennsylvania counties of Carbon, Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe, Pike, Schuylkill and Wayne.
Bank Financing - The project financing plan must include bank funds.