Press Release

U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $2.8 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Capitalize Revolving Loan Fund and Support Small Business in Las Vegas, Nevada

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.8 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to the Nevada Business Opportunity Fund, Las Vegas, Nevada, to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund, providing gap financing to minority and other disadvantaged businesses in Clark County. This EDA grant is expected to create or retain 100 jobs.

“President Biden is committed to supporting opportunities to grow new businesses and strengthen existing ones,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “This EDA grant will establish a Revolving Loan Fund that will provide small businesses in Clark County, Nevada with the financial assistance they need to rebuild and expand, creating good-paying jobs and a stronger regional economy.”

“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in supporting community-led economic development strategies designed to boost coronavirus recovery and response efforts,” said Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development Alejandra Y. Castillo. “This EDA investment will increase the availability of capital that small businesses in Clark County need to grow and thrive.”

“Las Vegas’s small businesses have been hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic, and this funding will help provide them access to the capital they need to rebuild, keep employees on the payroll, create new jobs, and look towards the future,” said Senator Catherine Cortez Masto. “The EDA funding I helped secure as part of the CARES Act has continued to boost Southern Nevada’s economic recovery, and I’ll keep working in the Senate to support the recovery of all of Nevada’s small businesses.”

“As Nevada works to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we must make bold investments in the success of businesses in our state,” said Senator Jacky Rosen. “As a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, I have consistently fought to ensure that our state’s businesses receive the support they need. This funding – a result of the CARES Act, which I helped to pass – will help to further the Silver State’s economic recovery by providing needed financial relief to Nevada businesses.”

“Over 99% of the roughly 300,000 businesses in the State of Nevada are small businesses, making resources for these enterprises critical to our continued recovery,” said Congresswoman Dina Titus (NV-01). “This grant will provide much needed capital for Clark County businesses and entrepreneurs with a focus on low-income individuals, women, and minorities.”

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 invests in communities and supports regional collaboration in order to create jobs for U.S. workers, promote American innovation, and accelerate long-term sustainable economic growth.