FORT WORTH (1080 KRLD) - With the coronavirus outbreak grinding the economy to a halt, the Small Business Administration is working to help small businesses stay afloat.
The SBA is making long-term, low-interest loans available to small business owners whose businesses are being decimated by the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
"The loan is up to $2 million per entity per disaster," says Kemmiko Grant, a business advisor with the Tarrant Small Business Development Center.
"Interest rate max is 3.75%," Grant said during a webinar hosted by the Fort Worth Chamber. "You're probably not going to find another loan lower than 3.75%. If you do, jump on it."
The loans are specifically for keeping small businesses afloat and cannot be used for any other purpose, such as refinancing an existing SBA loan.
"It's actually available for the working capital loans to help small businesses, small agriculture cooperatives, small business engaged in agriculture and most private nonprofit organizations of all sizes, meeting their original and necessary financial obligations that could not be met as a direct result of the disaster," says Grant.
There are certain criteria that the SBA will be looking for.
"They're going to be looking for (a few) things, — credit history, your repayment ability and any type of collateral for anything that's over $25,000," says Grant.
The SBA is also working to make repayment terms as easy as possible.
"Maximum term is 30 years," Grant says, "and they're also going to give you a whole year before you make your first payment."
Small business owners wishing to apply for a disaster loan can visit the SBA's Disaster Loan Assistance website (LINK: https://disasterloan.sba.gov).
Grant says the website might be slow at times.
"There's one website, and there are a million small businesses trying to get this assistance," Grant says.
