Following Executive Order 20-15, the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has established a loan program to assist small businesses affected by Executive Orders 20-04 and 20-08 following the COVID-19 pandemic. Small businesses are a vital part of Minnesota’s economy and this program will provide a source of working capital to help businesses sustain operations during this challenging time.

Click here to see all available details on terms, eligibility, and the application process.

Here’s a quick summary eligibility and terms:

  • In order to be eligible for a Small Business Emergency Loan, a business must be able to demonstrate that it was directly and adversely affected by the conditions that precipitated the emergency declaration as noted in Executive Orders 20-04 and 20-08.
    • Restaurants, food courts, cafes, coffeehouses, and other places of public accommodation offering food or beverage for on-premises consumption, excluding institutional or in-house food cafeterias that serve residents, employees, and clients of businesses, child care facilities, hospitals, and long-term care facilities.
    • Bars, taverns, brew pubs, breweries, microbreweries, distilleries, wineries, tasting rooms, clubs, and other places of public accommodation offering alcoholic beverages for on-premises consumption.
    • Hookah bars, cigar bars, and vaping lounges offering their products for on-premises consumption.
    • Theaters, cinemas, indoor and outdoor performance venues, and museums.
    • Gymnasiums, fitness centers, recreation centers, indoor sports facilities, indoor exercise facilities, exercise studios, and spas tanning establishments, body art establishments, tattoo parlors, piercing parlors, businesses offering massage therapy or similar body work, spas, salons, nail salons, cosmetology salons, esthetician salons, advanced practice esthetician salons, eyelash salons, and barber shops. This includes, but is not limited to, all salons and shops licensed by the Minnesota Board of Cosmetologist Examiners and the Minnesota Board of Barber Examiners.
    • Amusement parks, arcades, bingo halls, bowling alleys, indoor climbing facilities, skating rinks, trampoline parks, and other similar recreational or entertainment facilities.
    • Country clubs, golf clubs, boating or yacht clubs, sports or athletic clubs, and dining clubs.
  • To qualify, businesses must:
    • Be current on financial obligations as of March 1st, 2020
    • Be an existing small business
    • Have been operating in Minnesota long enough to demonstrate financial viability
    • Be willing to provide collateral or personal guarantee for at least 20% of the loan
    • Be unable to qualify for a standard loan through a bank, credit union, or nonprofit lending organization
    • Pay-off the emergency loan if financing is received subsequent to loan approval
  • Loans cannot be provided to businesses that:
    • Derive income from passive investments without operational ties to operating businesses
    • Primarily generate income from gambling activities
    • Generate any part of its income from gambling or adult-oriented activities
    • Have no current or historical financial statements
  • Terms (Loans will:)
    • Range from $2,500 to $35,000 and will be based on the firm’s economic injury and the financial need
    • Be interest free
    • Be paid back monthly over five (5) years and the first payment will be deferred six (6) months with potentially partial forgiveness
    • Partial forgiveness may be available
    • Be provided to only Minnesota-based businesses

Application Details

  • MN DEED asks that you please do not apply unless you clearly fit one of the business types listed. If your business does not qualify, your application cannot be considered. Please note that if you do not qualify but you apply anyway, you are simply adding to a backlog that will delay getting needed funding to your friends and neighbors.
  • Application should be made directly through a certified nonprofit lender. If a lender doesn’t have capacity, the lender may ask DEED for assistance.
  • All applicants must supply historical and projected financial information for the business, as well as a personal financial statement for each owner who holds at least a 20% interest in the business. Lenders may ask for this financial information and other information required to process the loan, including permission to pull credit reports, after the initial application is submitted.
  • Complete the Initial Application and submit to one of the following certified lenders that serves the county where the business is located. The fastest way to receive a response to applications and questions is to email a lender. Most lenders are currently being staffed remotely.

DHA’s Recommended Application Process