Hawaii's Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism (DBEDT) recently announced a new program to provide expanded access to credit for small businesses and nonprofits across the state.
According to a Gov. David Ige's website, the Hawaii Small Business Capital Program (HI-CAP) will support the efforts of local financial institutions to lend funds to small businesses by reducing credit risk and providing cash collateral.
“According to surveys conducted by our Research and Economic Analysis Division, some 60% of Hawaii businesses were closed during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic," DBEDT Director Mike McCartney said, according to the governor's website. "Of that, 97.5% of these businesses had less than 100 employees, of which 76% had less than 10 employees. While businesses have since either fully or partially reopened, almost 2% of Hawaii’s businesses were permanently closed. Helping small businesses access credit not only maintains jobs and supports Hawaii’s workforce, but it is also critical for creating new jobs and strengthening Hawaii’s economy.”
The program will be administered by the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA).
“We look forward to working with financial institutions statewide to enroll in the HI-CAP Collateral Program to facilitate lending to their small business clients recovering from the pandemic, growing their business and diversifying our economy,” Gwen Yamamoto Lau, HGIA executive director said, according to the governor's website.
Funding for the program is provided through the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation (HTDC) from the U.S. Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative.