Mississippi small businesses and nonprofits economically displaced by the pandemic can now apply for low-interest loans up to $100,000 through the Southern Opportunity and Resilience fund.
Of Mississippi's small businesses, 47% have less than two months cash on hand, according to the U.S. Census Bureau Small Business Pulse Survey.
The SOAR fund works with and through local Community Development Financial Institutions to provide help to underinvested business. SOAR's effort will span 16 states, and 13 CDFIs will serve as the fund's community lenders.
"Southern states had slower economic growth, lower labor force participation, and higher unemployment than the rest of the country, partially driven by the historic lack of corporate and philanthropic investment in the region," George Ashton, managing director at Local Initiatives Support Corporation, said in a media release Tuesday.