Cohen Announces $29.7 Million in Small Bussiness Lending for Tennessee to Help Create Jobs

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) today announced that the U.S. Department of the Treasury has approved applications for State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) funding for 11 states -- including Tennessee, which will receive $29.7 million. This new federal funding will help create new private sector jobs and spur additional small-business lending. The SSBCI, which supports state-level, small-business lending programs, is an important component of the Small Business Jobs Act that President Obama signed into law last fall.

“Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy,” said Congressman Cohen, who voted to support the Small Business Jobs Act. “These are tough economic times and we need to create jobs. One of the best ways to create jobs in Memphis and across the country is by helping small businesses grow and expand so they hire more people.”

Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development will use these new federal funds to establish a new venture capital program called the “INCITE Fund.” The goal of the program, called INCITE for its focus on innovation, commercialization, investment, technology and entrepreneurship, is to raise Tennessee’s profile in innovation-based economic development and drive growth in the creation of knowledge-based jobs.

Under the Small Business Jobs Act, Tennessee can access $29.7 million of a collective total of $360 million in SSBCI funds. They can expect to generate a minimum “bang for the buck” of at least $10 in new private lending for every $1 in federal funding. As such, this $360 million allocation is expected to support more than $3.6 billion in new private lending.

Under the SSBCI, all states are offered the opportunity to apply for federal funds for state-run programs that partner with private lenders and investors to increase the amount of credit available to small businesses. States must demonstrate a reasonable expectation that every $1 in federal funding will generate a minimum of $10 in new private lending. Accordingly, the overall $1.5 billion federal funding commitment for this program is expected to result in at least $15 billion in additional private lending nationwide.