Financing and Capital

The Governor’s Office of Small Business Assistance works closely with a variety of partners to facilitate small businesses accessing capital.

Product Development and Small Business Incubator Fund

The Product Development and Small Business Incubator Fund (PDSBI) provides asset-backed financing to companies doing business in Texas. It does this through direct asset-backed loans with competitive lending rates. Loans can be amortized up to the life of the asset. For more information, please visit the Incentives and Financing section of the website.

Non-Profit Lenders

Non-profit lenders offer favorable terms, such as low interest rates, as well as advice, mentoring and workshops. Loan decisions are based on more than a business’ financial statement. Some non-profit lenders in Texas include:

BCL of Texas promotes business and community development by providing capital and commercial real estate loans. BCL has helped to create over 5,000 jobs in Texas. It provides businesses with counseling and technical assistance. It also originates, underwrites, processes, closes and services business loans for healthy growing businesses.

LiftFund provides credit to small businesses that do not have access to loans from commercial sources. It seeks to provide leadership to the micro-lending field on a national level. It offers individual business loans from $500 to $1 million. Through the SBA 504 loan program, they are able to offer loans up to $5.5 million to finance the acquisition of fixed assets.

PeopleFund provides financial and technical assistance to people who are left out of the financial mainstream. PeopleFund administers small business and non-profit loans, business consulting, and technical assistance. PeopleFund offers the SBA Microloan for small businesses, the 7A Community Advantage for growing businesses, and the SBA 504 Loan for businesses looking to expand through purchase of commercial real estate or long-term equipment.

Small Business Administration Loan Programs

Small Business Administration Loan Programs are administered by local SBA offices in Texas, providing financial aid to small businesses. For more information, please visit the below links to each district office.

Capital Access Program

The Capital Access Program (CAP) is a partnership between the State of Texas and selected non-profit lenders to increase access to financing for small and medium-sized businesses and non-profits which face barriers to accessing capital or fall outside of guidelines of conventional lending. The program facilitates loans which are underwritten by the participating non-profit lenders and supported by the state contributions to a loan loss reserve fund.

Skills for Small Business

The Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) supports businesses with fewer than 100 employees and emphasizes training for new, full-time workers. Support is also available to upgrade the skills of existing full-time workers. Training is provided through community or technical colleges, or the Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX). To find out more, visit the TWC website.

Federal Grants and Resources

Federal grants are provided to small businesses across the nation. Many of the grants are used to support businesses interested in research and development. Below are a selection of websites with more information.

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)

USDA’s business programs provide financial backing and technical assistance to stimulate business creation and growth. Loans, loan guarantees and grants are available to individuals, businesses, cooperatives, farmers and ranchers, public bodies, non-profit corporations, Native American Tribes and private companies in rural communities. For more information, please visit the USDA website.

The Rural Busienss Enterprise Grant Program (RBEG)

RBEG is a competitive grant designed to support targeted technical assistance, training and other activities leading to the development or expansion of small and emerging private businesses in rural areas which will employ 50 or fewer new employees and has less than $1 million in gross revenue. For more information, including the deadline for Texas applications, please visit the RBEG website.