When a large swath of Connecticut was forced to shut down during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, state officials quickly created an emergency loan program from scratch, hoping to help small businesses — pizza shops, yoga studios and more — weather the economic crisis.
“I think we made the decision, and I still to this day think it was the right one. We wanted to touch as many businesses as possible,” said David Lehman, commissioner of the Department of Economic and Community Development.Ashley Krauss, owner of the Darien, Conn., bridal salon A Little Something White, said the $33,330 loan she received from the state, coupled with a forgivable federal loan, helped keep her seven employees working during the two months when there were no sales.
In Connecticut, records show 15.4% of the state’s loans went to minority-owned businesses and 27.6% were issued to women-owned businesses. Full repayment is required one year after receipt of the funds, but applicants can request a six-month extension.Although Lehman considers Connecticut’s program a success, it appears unlikely it will be resurrected, despite calls for more help.
Roughly 80% of Connecticut businesses that received money from the state’s bridge loan program also received PPP funds, said Lehman, who did not rule out the state coming up with other ways to help small businesses.Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Assn., said he’d like Connecticut to use about $60 million of the $1.4 billion the state had received in federal coronavirus aid under the CARES Act to create a grant program for small businesses.
Andrew Markowski, Connecticut state director of the National Federation of Independent Businesses, said members also liked the idea of a grant program, as well as the continued relaxation of state regulations.Dolch has been discussing with Lehman ways to possibly adjust current restrictions on restaurants, such as swapping the current 50% capacity limits on indoor dining with 6-foot distances between tables.
In South Africa we are struggling to get loans we were promised by ANC government instead we get frustrated by Commercial Banks and Government corruption.
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