Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $2.5 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Support Business Capital Needs in Missouri

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding $2.5 million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance grants to provide the capital needed to seed new businesses and support the growth of established businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

“President Biden is committed to unleashing the full power of the federal government to ensure our nation not only recovers from this pandemic but builds back stronger,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These EDA investments will provide the critical gap financing that entrepreneurs across Missouri need to grow new businesses while helping established businesses tap into the capital resources they need to recover and grow.”

“The Economic Development Administration is committed to helping communities across the nation implement strategies to mitigate economic hardships brought on by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “These EDA investments will enable two regions in Missouri to support small businesses and entrepreneurs in their communities through financing to create stronger regional economies.”

“The COVID-19 crisis has severely impacted businesses across the state, but we are already seeing strong signs of recovery,” said Governor Mike Parson. “These funds will provide critical assistance to small businesses and the communities that depend on them as Missouri continues working to recover, rebuild, and reinvest in our economy.”

“At the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress worked quickly in a bipartisan, bicameral way to pass the CARES Act and provide much-needed aid for small businesses,” said Senator Roy Blunt. “I’m glad to see the resources included in the bill are continuing to make their way to our state to support Main Street businesses as the economy works its way back to full speed.”

“I’m thankful to the Biden administration and the EDA for granting $1 million to assist small businesses and entrepreneurs in western Missouri who were devastated by the coronavirus pandemic,” said Congressman Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05). “With these critical federal dollars from the CARES Act, which I was proud to support, these businesses and our local economies can begin to heal from the pandemic and build back better than ever before.”

The EDA investments announced today are:

• Mid-Missouri Regional Planning Commission, Ashland, Missouri, will receive a $1.5 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Howard, and Moniteau counties.
• AltCap, Kansas City, Missouri, will receive a $1 million EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund (RLF) to provide gap financing to small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area, including Jackson, Cass, Clay, and Platte counties in Missouri and Wyandotte and Johnson counties in Kansas.

This project is funded under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (Public Law 116-136 PDF), which provided EDA with $1.5 billion for economic assistance programs to help communities prevent, prepare for, and respond to coronavirus. EDA CARES Act Recovery Assistance, which is being administered under the authority of the bureau’s flexible Economic Adjustment Assistance (EAA) (PDF) program, provides a wide-range of financial assistance to eligible communities and regions as they respond to and recover from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic.

About the U.S. Economic Development Administration (www.eda.gov)
The mission of the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting competitiveness and preparing the nation's regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. An agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce, EDA makes investments in economically distressed communities in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.