The Government of Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Department of Housing (PRDOH) launched the Small Business Financing Program (SBF), financed with funds allocated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to provide a Recovery Grants phase (grants awards of up to $50,000) for working capital and moveable equipment for small businesses and microenterprises that suffered physical and/or financial losses due to the hurricanes.

According to the PRDOH, following the Recovery Grant phase, SBF will offer the ability to apply for flexible loans to further implement economic recovery. The Recovery Grants will assist economic recovery across the island by creating new jobs, retaining current employees and attending the urgent need for assistance that many small businesses in Puerto Rico have as a result of damages caused by the storms.What types of businesses can apply to the program?

• Small Businesses: defined as a business composed of 75 employees or less.
• Microenterprises: For the purposes of the CDBG-DR program, a micro-enterprise is a company that has 5 or fewer employees, one or more of whom owns the company. This includes an autonomous individual.

For more information on the eligibility requirements and how to apply, access https://www.cdbg-dr.pr.gov/en/small-business-financing/ or downloads these documents:

1. ECO_SBF_SOP_User-Submission-Guide_EN_v1

2. One-Pager_Small-Business-Financing_English-1