Rural Business & Cooperative Program:

Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan Program

The Business & Industry Guaranteed Loan Program guarantees loans is “lender-driven,” loans are made by eligible local lenders to businesses to benefit rural communities. This program gives lenders the flexibility to maintain a loan with a percentage guarantee or sell the loan on the secondary market. The USDA guarantees the loan rather than lending money directly to a loan applicant. A commercial lender requests the B&I Guarantee, and if approved, the lender issues and services the loan.

The Intermediary Relending Program provides for the establishment of a revolving loan fund. Loans are made by an intermediary to finance business development in rural areas (pop. 25,000 or less). Intermediaries may be private non-profit corporations, public agencies, Indian tribes, or cooperatives with experience in lending.

Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program

The Rural Business Enterprise Grant Program provides grants to public bodies and non-profit organizations to finance development of small, emerging private business enterprises. This program finances small, emerging, private business enterprises in rural areas or cities up to 50,000 in population with priority to applications for projects in open country, rural communities and towns of 50,000 and smaller in economically distressed communities. Rural Business Enterprise Grants include grants made to third-party lenders to establish revolving loan programs.

Rural Business Opportunity Grant Program

The Rural Business Opportunity Grant Program is designed to fund technical assistance for business and economic planning activities. The Rural Business Opportunity Grant Program is specifically designed to improve economic conditions in areas with exceptional needs with populations of 50,000 or less. Requests for funding are limited to $50,000 per project.

Rural Economic Development Loan Program

The Rural Economic Development Loan Program provides zero interest loans to electric and telephone utilities to re-lend loan monies in rural communities to promote rural economic development and job creation projects.