March 16, 2020

The U.S. Small Business Administration will provide up to $2 million in disaster assistance loans to each small business impacted by COVID-19.

“Small businesses are vital economic engines in every community and state, and they have helped make our economy the strongest in the world,” SBA administrator Jovita Carranza said in a statement.

“Our agency will work directly with state governors to provide targeted, low-interest disaster-recovery loans to small businesses that have been severely impacted by the situation.”

The SBA will work through a network of 68 district offices and numerous resource partners to help with counseling small businesses as they navigate the pandemic.

Governors need to request the assistance, which will provide low-interest disaster loans for working capital to small businesses suffering substantial economic injury as a result of COVID-19. Once a declaration is made, the application process will be available for affected communities.

This program would help eligible businesses and nonprofits affected by COVID-19.

“We are working very closely with the SBA to ensure that South Dakota companies negatively impacted by COVID-19 have access to economic assistance,” Gov. Kristi Noem said. “This is unchartered territory for everyone, including the SBA, but my economic development team stands ready to help businesses and counties work through this process. I’m extremely thankful for the quick response and strong leadership that President Trump and his team at SBA are providing.”

Affected small businesses and nonprofits need to download, complete and submit this SBA EIDL worksheet and instructions to expedite activation of the EIDL program. Completed forms may be submitted by email to [email protected]. This initial survey form is not an SBA loan application. When the EIDL program is activated, businesses will be contacted to apply directly to the SBA.

Loans may be used to  pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that can’t be paid because of the disaster’s impact. The interest rate is 3.75 percent for small businesses without credit available elsewhere; businesses with credit available elsewhere are not eligible. The interest rate for nonprofits is 2.75 percent.

The SBA offers loans with long-term repayments to keep payments affordable, up to a maximum of 30 years. Terms are determined on a case-by-case basis, based upon each borrower’s ability to repay.

For additional information, contact the SBA disaster assistance customer service center. Call 800-659-2955, TTY at 800-877-8339 or e-mail [email protected].