The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) has announced an $800,000 grant award to the Northeast Council of Governments Development Corporation in Aberdeen, South Dakota. The purpose of the grant is to invest in and manage a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) aimed at providing support to small businesses in 12 counties across Northeast South Dakota, according to an EDA press release.
The RLF will target businesses that have difficulty securing traditional financing and will aid in their expansion, creating new jobs and economic opportunities in the process. The EDA grant will be supplemented by $200,000 in local funds. It is projected that this initiative will either create or maintain 20 jobs, and stimulate $2 million in private investment, based on estimates provided by the grantee.
The EDA’s RLF program has been instrumental in providing over $1.3 billion in investments via approximately 45,000 loans to small and medium-sized businesses since its inception. The program has contributed to the creation or preservation of roughly 700,000 jobs.
Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo stated, “The Economic Development Administration works closely with local communities to support place-based economic growth. This Revolving Loan Fund will provide the capital that small businesses and entrepreneurs in Northeast South Dakota need to grow and thrive.”
The grant was made possible due to the regional planning efforts of the Northeast Council of Governments (NECOG). The EDA funds NECOG to facilitate collaboration between the public and private sectors in developing an economic development roadmap aimed at boosting the regional economy, fostering private capital investment and creating jobs. The project will encompass Beadle, Brown, Campbell, Day, Edmunds, Faulk, Hand, Marshall, McPherson, Potter, Spink, and Walworth counties.
