Maryland gains access to $23 million from federal funds

5/30/2011

The federal government has granted the state of Maryland $23 million to support small business lending, state and local officials announced earlier this week.

As the Baltimore Sun reports, the state plans to bolster its support of small businesses and startups by making direct commercial loans. U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios anticipates the money will produce $230 million in private sector lending for entrepreneurs in the state.

Maryland was particularly hard-hit by the economic recession, and the additional funds will come as a big relief to small business owners throughout the state. The funding is expected to help more than 100 businesses and create nearly 10,000 jobs for Maryland residents.

"For us, this is a shot in the arm to have resources necessary to assist small businesses," Christian S. Johansson, Maryland's secretary of business and economic development, told the paper.

Small business lending has been a focus of many government initiatives. For example, the Small Business Lending Fund set aside more than $30 billion for community banks to access to help startups and small companies.