Thanks to recent approval from the Nevada Legislature’s Interim Finance Committee, small businesses across Nevada could receive a $35 million boost over the next three years from the first tranche of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (also known as SSBCI 2.0).

This is a positive development for credit unions across the state serving lower income areas. Up to $13.6 million of these funds will be used to support businesses founded by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.

SSBCI 2.0 provides a combined $10 billion to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and tribal governments to empower small businesses to access capital needed to invest in job-creating opportunities as the country emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. Federal funding was reauthorized by The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.

Going forward, the U.S. Treasury Department is expected to announce approval for the plan that Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) submitted. The plan garnered wide-ranging support at the recent committee meeting, with proponents’ comments coming from agencies and organizations that include (but are not limited to) the Nevada Credit Union League, gener8tor, Access Community Capital, StartUpNV, the City of Las Vegas, the Community Reinvestment Fund, and others.

“GOED has developed a comprehensive plan… that will create sustainable job growth,” stated League Vice President of Social Impact Daniel West in a letter of testimony. “We believe that GOED will be able to successfully deploy the funds allocated through the SSBCI. Our belief is strengthened by the work that GOED has done to include Nevada credit union leaders’ insights in the development of its state plan. The Social Economic Disadvantaged Individual (SEDI) program ensures there are funds available and ready to be deployed to and by communities most impacted by a failure to innovate and transform the Nevada economy.”

Local member-credit unions of the League were asked to be a part of the state’s ongoing planning and discussion process for allotment and disbursement of these funds going forward.

The committee’s recent action allows Nevada to receive the first tranche of funding once the treasury completes Nevada’s application process. Additionally, Nevada will be eligible for more funding when it reaches the treasury’s deployment requirements of 80 percent of the first phase. The first phase must be fully deployed after three years, and the second tranche after the following three years. It’s possible total funding could amount to $105 million over several years.

SSBCI 2.0 is a successor program to the 2010 – 2011 SSBCI program when Nevada received $13.8 million. Nevada’s SSBCI Program has been administered by GOED and consists of a Collateral Support Program and Venture Capital Program components. The venture capital component is managed through Nevada Battle Born Growth Escalator Inc., a corporation for public benefit (created by Assembly Bill 17 in the 2015 legislative session).

This new iteration of SSBCI would substantially broaden the program’s scope to include a total of five components, which will increase the ability to support small businesses tremendously. All components would launch by January 2023.

To view a local news story on the funding by The Center Square, click here.

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