Similar to the SBA loan guarantee,the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) also provides a loan guarantee for small businesses called the B&I or Business & Industry loan guarantee. As one may imagine this program is more for businesses in rural areas, which by USDA standards is a city or town with fewer than 50,000 residents. Here is a link to the eligibility map – https://eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov/eligibility/welcomeAction.do
The process is basically the same as the SBA where the entrepreneur would prepare a business plan and go to the bank. The bank would look at the project and decide if additional security is needed in the project.
While the USDA loan guarantee program is not nearly as well-known as SBA’s there are some good reasons to look at it. For starters, the USDA will guarantee a larger loan amount than the SBA – up to $25 million. Another benefit is USDA will provide longer terms on real estate for 30 years, equipment for 15 years and working capital for 7 years. Last the USDA’s guarantee is larger than SBA’s.
USDA guarantee portion varies depending on the amount of the loan:
Collateral is required and should be at least the amount of the loan.
Business eligibility is pretty broad and includes startup or existing business located in a rural area that saves or creates jobs.
There are a few businesses that are not eligible with the common ones including:
Funds can be used for a variety of purposes including:
Lines of credit are not an eligible use of funds.
Fees for a USDA guarantee are 3% of the principal plus an annual fee of .5%
Expect a response from a USDA application between 30 and 60 days.