Dear Iowa Economic Development Partners:
The U.S. Department of the Treasury moved to support business lending in Iowa when it announced, in 2011, that the state would receive $13.2 million under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI), a component of President Obama’s Small Business Jobs Act. Iowa's planned use of the SSBCI funds will help create new private sector jobs and spur more than $132 million in additional small-businesses lending in the state. The Iowa Economic Development Authority will use these funds to support the:
· Iowa Capital Access Program (ICAP): The Iowa Business Growth Company will administer the Capital Access Program and will target its outreach specifically to rural communities throughout the state. ICAP assists Iowa businesses secure the financing they need to launch, retain, or expand business operations in Iowa. For more information contact Steve Cruse, Vice-President, Iowa Business Growth Company at 515.223.4511 ext. #103 or Steve@iowabusinessgrowth.com
· Iowa Small Business Loan Support Program: The Iowa Foundation for Microenterprise and Community Vitality (IFMCV) will administer the Iowa Small Business Loan Support program and will use the funding to provide participation loans in conjunction with private financing to support small businesses. For more information contact Jason Yates, Iowa MicroLoan at 515.401.8290 or jyates@iowamicroloan.org.
· Iowa Innovation Acceleration Fund (IIA Fund): The IEDA will administer this program. The IIA Fund promotes the formation and growth of businesses that engage in the transfer of technology into competitive, profitable companies that create high paying jobs. The funds are designed to support commercializing research, launching new start-ups and accelerating private investment and industrial expansion efforts that result in significant capital investment. The fund provides financing to eligible businesses through three program components that correspond to three different stages of growth for investment-grade, high-growth enterprises:
(1) Iowa LAUNCH for pre-seed capital stage financing
(2) Iowa PROPEL for seed capital stage financing
(3) Iowa INNOVATION EXPANSION for expansion-stage financing
$5 million was allocated to the IIA fund for the next two calendar years. Each one dollar ($1) of requested funds from the IIA Fund must be matched by a minimum of one dollar ($1) of private funds. The application process will follow the same steps and timeline as the Demonstration Fund program. The Technology Commercialization Committee will review the applications and make funding recommendations to the IEDA Board. Companies that received Demonstration Fund awards are eligible for this program.
We have scheduled a conference call for Monday, February 13, 2012 from 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. for you to call in for more information and to ask questions about the IIA Fund. The call-in numbers are:
Call In: 1- 866-685-1580 Conference Code: 5152424731
Attached is a copy of the IIA Fund application, the application process and information on the program components. More information is available on the web site at http://iowaeconomicdevelopment.com/business/ssbci_innovaccel.aspx
We are excited to have these programs available to Iowa entrepreneurs and companies. If you plan to participate in the conference call, please let me know.
Sincerely,
Gail Kotval
IOWA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY
200 East Grand Avenue | Des Moines, Iowa 50309
PH: 515.725.3192 | gail.kotval@iowa.gov
iowaeconomicdevelopment.com
