The North Dakota Department of Commerce today announced that businesses experiencing or forecasting financial strain relating to the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic are highly encouraged to begin preparing a Small Business Administration (SBA) Disaster Loan application.
The SBA announced on March 12 the availability of $7 billion to assist small businesses adversely affected by the pandemic. The SBA will provide up to $2 million per company in low-interest loans to support working capital requirements and other needs.
“We have been advised that applications are approved on a first come, first serve basis,” Commerce Commissioner Michelle Kommer said. “Time is of the essence to ensure North Dakota business applications are received and processed before influx of other states.”
According to the SBA, disaster loans offer an affordable way for individuals and businesses to recover from declared disasters.
The loan application is not yet open to North Dakota, however, there are several steps businesses can take right now to ensure their application is submitted in a timely manner.
To apply online, businesses will be required to set-up a user account. Those wishing to create an account should visit https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Account/Register1
The applications require additional documents. Businesses wishing to apply for the loan should take proactive measures by gathering documents and additional information necessary to process the application. The process and required documents are described in the following link:
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela/Documents/Three_Step_Process_SBA_Disaster_Loans.pdf
Commerce will provide updates about the SBA Disaster Loan and other emergency financing resources as they become available. More information about resources for businesses affected by COVID-19 can be found on Commerce’s Business and Employer Resources web page that unifies all resources available to businesses on a common site at business.nd.gov/resources/COVID19BusinessandEmployerResources/