The U.S. Department of the Treasury has approved $62 million in federal funding for Hawaiʻi small businesses through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). The funding, which was included in the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), will be used to provide financing and credit to Hawaiʻi small businesses and invest in businesses operating in key sectors including renewable energy and supply chain management.
Since ARPA was enacted, the Hawaiʻi Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) has been working with local stakeholders to determine how Hawaiʻi’s SSBCI funds can best be deployed to promote access to capital throughout communities in the state. HTDC has identified the following three primary uses for the funds, including:
- a collateral support program to provide small and medium-sized businesses with access to capital, allowing local financial institutions to take greater risks on these businesses;
- a loan participation program to provide low-cost capital to finance clean energy improvements for underserved ratepayers (modeled after the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority’s Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) program); and
- a fund to promote venture capital, social impact investments, and other projects.