Mo. distributes $24M in federal funds

The Missouri Department of Economic Development and the Missouri Technology Corp. have distributed nearly $24 million in federal funding as part of the U.S. Treasury Department's State Small Business Credit Initiative.

Missouri gave out 89 percent of its total $26.9 million in available SSBCI funds. Nationwide, $835 million has been awarded to shore up small-business lending and investments, according to a news release.

“The U.S. Treasury Department, states and private sector lenders are investing in local communities to help drive economic growth, and these efforts are supporting small businesses in Missouri,” Treasury Department Deputy Secretary Sarah Bloom Raskin said in the release. “Small businesses are at the forefront of the nation’s economic recovery, and the State Small Business Credit Initiative provides entrepreneurs and small business owners with access to the resources they need to grow and create jobs.”

The Treasury Department plans to award up to $1.5 billion through SSBCI, and to date, has deployed $1 billion to states and municipalities. The hope is to spur $15 billion in new private sector lending or investments in small businesses by leveraging $10 in private capital for every federal dollar. The program was created by the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, according to the release.