<< All News Wednesday, June 17, 2020 - 08:27 am Categories:
COVID-19

The North Dakota Department of Commerce today announced that a special Business Briefing call will be held this Thursday, June 18, at 9 a.m., in response to the latest updates regarding the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan. 

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced on Monday, June 15, that the EIDL and EIDL Advance program portal was reopened to further meet the needs of small businesses, nonprofits and agriculture businesses experiencing economic impacts due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The EIDL program offers long-term, low-interest assistance for small businesses or nonprofits to provide economic support to help alleviate temporary loss of revenue. The assistance can be used to cover payroll and inventory, make debt payments or fund other expenses.  

In addition to the EIDL program, the EIDL Advance can provide up to $10,000 ($1,000 per employee) of emergency economic relief to businesses that are currently experiencing temporary difficulties. The advance does not have to be repaid and applicants can receive an advance without being approved for the loan. 

“Time is of the essence when applying for EIDL funding,” North Dakota U.S. Small Business Administration Director Al Haut said. “Businesses and nonprofits are highly encouraged to apply for funding in a timely matter as recipients will receive money on a first-come, first-serve basis.” 

The SBA resumed processing EIDL applications that were submitted before the portal stopped accepting new applications on April 15 and will be processing submitted applications on a first-come, first-served basis.  

Applications can be accessed here

In addition to the EIDL updates, the U.S. Senate passed the House version of Paycheck Protection Program legislation, tripling the time allotted for small businesses and other PPP loan recipients to spend the funds and still qualify for forgiveness of the loans. 

“More than 19,000 North Dakota businesses received the PPP loan, and the program is still open to new applicants until June 30,” Commerce Commissioner Michelle Kommer said. “The recently signed PPP Flexibility Act makes important changes to the program that may be favorable for businesses. This week’s Business Briefing call will provide a review of significant changes made to the PPP through the PPP Flexibility Act, which makes funding more accessible and less rule-bound for small businesses affected by COVID-19.” 

To receive call-in information, attendees must register as a non-member of the Greater North Dakota Chamber of Commerce. A confirmation email with call specifics will be sent to the email provided upon completion of registration and prior to the call. Please provide your questions relating to the call during registration. These will be provided ahead of time to the Department of Commerce so that presenters can address your questions to the extent possible, given the dynamic environment. Questions not addressed during the conference call will be answered in follow-up communication. 

Recordings of the previous Business Briefings can be found here

Those who are unable to attend the call can receive updates from brief and recordings by following @CommerceND on Facebook and Twitter, and Dept. of Commerce on LinkedIn.

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