U.S. Department of Commerce Invests $2.4 Million in CARES Act Recovery Assistance to Establish Revolving Loan Fund to Assist Disadvantaged Entrepreneurs in New York and New Jersey

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the Department’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) is awarding a $2.4 million CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant to BOC Capital Corporation, Brooklyn, New York, to capitalize and administer a Revolving Loan Fund that will provide critical gap financing to disadvantaged entrepreneurs in minority communities in New York and New Jersey. This EDA grant is expected to create 800 jobs, retain 2,000 jobs, and generate $18 million in private investment.

“President Biden is committed to helping small businesses in minority communities bounce back from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This EDA investment in BOC Capital Corporation gives business owners an immediate, flexible, and accessible source of financing to build back better.”

“The Economic Development Administration plays an important role in supporting community-led economic development strategies designed to boost coronavirus recovery and response efforts,” said Dennis Alvord, Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development. “This EDA investment will capitalizes a revolving loan fund and provide funding for administrative expenses to address the economic development needs of small businesses and entrepreneurs adversely affected by the coronavirus pandemic in Kings, New York, Queens, Bronx, and Westchester Counties, New York, and Bergen, Essex, Hudson, and Union Counties in New Jersey.”

“In these trying and unprecedented times, it’s critical that we support entrepreneurs in underserved communities across New York to help put local economies on track to recovery,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “That is why I fought hard to include EDA funding in the CARES Act, and additional EDA funds in the American Rescue Plan to help business owners weather the devastating economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and invest in the recovery of local economies. This federal investment will provide a lifeline to small businesses and entrepreneurs, saving thousands of jobs and creating hundreds of new ones.”

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.