Today is National Entrepreneurship Day, an annual event that occurs on the third Tuesday of November to honor our nation’s entrepreneurs.
Officially Established in 2010, then-President Barack Obama proclaimed the last day of 2010’s National Entrepreneur Week as National Entrepreneurship Day.
In the past year, U.S. entrepreneurs have faced historic challenges in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many businesses were forced to close, faced setbacks, and financial losses. However, we have also seen great hope and innovation during this time as entrepreneurs and business owners found ways to adapt and communities came together to help each other. Additionally, this time saw a boom of new businesses established during the pandemic.
In a White House statement for the Proclamation of National Entrepreneurship Month 2021, President Biden said,
“In the midst of the economic disruption caused by the pandemic, Americans started more than 4 million businesses last year, a 24 percent increase from the year before — the highest number of monthly business applications on record — and start-up rates growing the most among immigrants and Black, Latino, and Asian, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Americans. This is important for our future success, as small businesses are the engines of our economic progress — and the heart and soul of our communities.”
To help entrepreneurs and small business owners recover post-Covid, various programs have been established dedicated to providing aid and assistance. One program small businesses can benefit from to bounce back financially in the Covid-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL).
Economic recovery for small businesses: COVID-19 Economic Injury Disaster Loan
The COVID-19 EIDL is a federal small business loan program that supports small businesses’ recovery from COVID-19’s economic impacts by providing accessible and borrower-friendly capital. The program is open to small business owners, including agricultural businesses, and nonprofit organizations in all U.S. states, Washington D.C., and territories.
“The SBA’s COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan program offers a lifeline to millions of small businesses who are still being impacted by the pandemic,” SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman said in a press release.
The loan comes directly from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and must be repaid. It is a low-interest, fixed-rate, long-term loan to help businesses overcome the effects of the pandemic by providing working capital to meet operating expenses.
Proceeds can be used to make regular payments for operating expenses, including payroll, rent/mortgage, utilities, and other ordinary business expenses, and to pay business debt incurred at any time (past, present, or future).
Maximum Loan Amount: $2 million
Loan Term: 30 years
Interest Rate:
- Businesses: 3.75% fixed
- Private nonprofit organizations: 2.75% fixed
Payment Deferment: Payments are deferred for the first 2 years (during which interest will accrue), and payments of principal and interest are made over the remaining 28 years. No penalty for prepayment.
For more information visit the SBA site.
How to Apply
To be eligible, applicants must be physically located in the United States or designated territory and must have suffered working capital losses due to the Coronavirus pandemic. A comprehensive list of additional eligibility requirements can be found here.
To apply, first-time COVID EIDL applicants should complete the following steps:
- Confirm eligibility
- Complete Intake Form.
- Sign up to create portal username via SBA email invite.
- Complete portal steps and submit relevant documents.
- Respond to SBA requests for signature, confirmation, and documents.
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All business owners who have received previous loans through the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF), or Shuttered Venue Operators Grant (SVOG) can still benefit from COVID EIDL. For no-cost assistance for the COVID EIDL program, and every other SBA program, go to www.sba.gov/local-assistance and connect with a local resource partner near you.
