Pennsylvania governor awards $246 million for small businesses through SSBCI

Gov. Tom Wolf awarded $246.8 million to Pennsylvania local economic development partners through the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) this week. The money is expected to help small, socially and economically disadvantaged businesses grow. The Pennsylvania Department of community and Economic Development (DCED) will distribute the funds to partners who will administer the funding to qualifying businesses. The funding is divided between the Direct Venture Investment program ($123 million), which provides funding to economic development organizations that disburse it as seed and later-stage capital for companies, and the Revolving Loan fund program ($123.8 million), which provides funding to economic development organizations to create or capitalize loan funds to support small businesses.

LifeX Greenhouses, Inc., based in Pittsburgh, took over one of the state’s three Life Sciences Greenhouse designations in late July and was awarded $14.76 million through the Direct Venture Investment funding. Other economic development organizations that were awarded funds through that program include:

• Ben Franklin Technology Partners Central & Northern Pennsylvania – $19,678,479
• Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania – $19,678,479
• Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Southeastern Pennsylvania – $19,678,479
• Innovation Works, Inc. – $19,678,479
• BioAdvance (Biotechnology Greenhouse Corporation of Southeastern Pennsylvania) – $14,758,859
• Life Sciences Greenhouse of Central Pennsylvania – $14,758,859

The capital programs administered by the economic development organizations will open by Oct. 17, 2022, and small businesses can apply for funding through those organizations.  More information on Pennsylvania’s SSBCI funding can be found here.