The Washington State Department of Commerce has launched the first of five planned small business loan and investment programs aimed at increasing access to capital for small businesses in Washington state, particularly those that have been historically underserved or underbanked. A total of $163 million in funding comes from the U.S. Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Commerce manages the SSBCI programs in Washington.

The first two SSBCI programs, the Small Business Flex Fund 2 ($63 million) and the Owner-Occupied Commercial Real-Estate Loan Program ($25 million) are now accepting applications. Read more