Louisiana Businesses Now Eligible for Disaster Loans (3.20.2020)
Small businesses in New Orleans are now eligible for federal disaster-loan assistance through the Small Business Administration.
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the availability of these loans to all 64 Louisiana parishes, as part of the response to the COVID-19 outbreak.
You can apply for the assistance here.
“As we continue to respond to the evolving challenges brought on by the COVID-19 outbreak and work to sustain our local economy, we are grateful to the small business community for their rapid response in providing the City of New Orleans with documentation of economic injury. This gave us the kind of data we needed to work with the Governor’s Office to help push for the declaration request to the SBA on Monday,” said Ellen M. Lee, Director, Mayor’s Office of Community and Economic Development. “We recognize the massive economic strain from this pandemic, and will fight for every opportunity to work with our state and federal partners to secure additional resources to assist our business community.”
“COVID-19 is a unique crisis affecting all walks of life, and that means Louisiana’s small business community will continue to be heavily impacted by disruptions to their operations,” Gov. Edwards said. “We are pleased to work with SBA and the federal government in providing this critical working capital to our small business owners who are suffering from the necessary measures installed due to the Coronavirus. Our hope is that these SBA disaster loans will be an important part of sustaining their businesses and providing support to their employees who make up over half of Louisiana’s private-sector workforce.”
SBA loans of up to $2 million will aid Louisiana’s more than 440,000 small businesses.