The deadline to apply for the City of Chicago $100 million loans through the Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund expires today at 5:00 pm.
Interested business owners can apply for the loans at www.chicagoresiliencyfund.com.
“We encourage small businesses to apply today to take advantage of this great opportunity”, said the commissioner of the Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP), Rosa Escareño, in an interview with Negocios Now.
The Resiliency Fund will provide small businesses and nonprofits with emergency cash flow during this health crisis. This loan with low-interest is structured to complement the other federal loans to support businesses such as the Paycheck Protection Program.
According to Escareño, the City of Chicago has received around 7,000 applications. “We are focused on helping small businesses that have been impacted by COVID-19,” she said
Five-year loans of up to $50,000 are available for Chicago small businesses and nonprofits with annual revenues of less than $3 million that have suffered at least a 25 percent decrease in revenue due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
To be eligible, businesses must employ fewer than 50 employees. Loan proceeds are required to be used for working capital with at least 50 percent of the proceeds applied towards payroll.
The fixed annual interest rates on the loan will be 1 percent for the first 18 months, with nominal payments during the first 6 months.
“These unprecedented times call for unprecedented measures. We know that our business owners and entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury to wait for federal support which is why with the Chicago Small Business Resiliency Fund, we are putting money directly into the hands of our small businesses now so that they can weather this storm,” said Mayor Lightfoot.
“When we support small businesses, we support their workers, who in turn help uplift the vibrancy of our neighborhoods and I want to thank our public and private partners who helped make this relief a reality.
