PIERRE, S.D. (DRG News) – Ninety-four businesses have been approved as the first recipients of loans from a newly created state Small Business Relief Fund.

Governor Kristi Noem says she and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development created the fund to provide small businesses in South Dakota access to capital to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here are the criteria for loan recipients:

• Be a small for-profit or non-profit business as defined by SBA, but with less than 250 employees;
• Physical presence in South Dakota;
• Established prior to March 2020;
• Provide a written acknowledgment from a South Dakota bank and/or certified public accountant that the applicant has made statements or otherwise provided information or evidence that supports applicant’s claim that applicant’s business has suffered material negative impact from the COVID-19 pandemic;
• Have a personal credit with a minimum score of 650; lower requires a special exception;
• Demonstrate 1:1 debt coverage ratio with the new debt factored under normal circumstances.

To learn more about Governor Noem’s Small Business Relief Fund, visit sdgoed.com/covid-19/.

The list of loan recipients can be found here.