The Paycheck Protection Program has provided over $798 billion in economic relief to small businesses and nonprofits across the United States to keep employees working and to help businesses come back stronger as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to slow down.
According to SBA South Dakota District Director Jaime Wood, statewide participation in the 2021 PPP round nearly doubled that of the 2020 cycle.
“Nearly 41,000 PPP loans were approved in 2021 compared to 23,000 in 2020, demonstrating the residual economic impact as the pandemic progressed,” said Wood. “Since April 2020, PPP provided $2.7 billion of capital infusion to SD small businesses and non-profits.”
Wood added the program success is highly attributed to the strong small business ecosystem across the state including the close relationship SBA partner lenders have with small businesses.
Nationally, “The Paycheck Protection Program provided over 8.5 million small businesses and nonprofits the lifeline they needed to survive during a once-in-generation economic crisis. I’ve heard story after story from small business owners across the country about how PPP funds helped them keep the lights on, pay their employees — and gave them hope,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. “At the same time, millions of underserved businesses – particularly our smallest businesses and those owned by women and people of color – were left out of early rounds of relief. I’m proud of the work we did to begin to rectify these inequities — in 2021, 96% of PPP loans went to small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. Moving forward, we will continue to prioritize equity in all SBA’s programs and services.”
The Paycheck Protection Program, among the first COVID-19 economic disaster relief programs to provide emergency funds to small businesses affected by the pandemic, has played a historic role in America’s recovery. The Biden-Harris Administration has pushed an effective and equitable implementation of this program, with a focus on ensuring small businesses receive the backing they need to stay afloat and continue to employ millions of Americans. The program has supported the smallest of small businesses with 32 percent of the loans going to Low-and-Moderate Income (LMI) communities. Additionally, Community Financial Institutions (CFIs) played a pivotal role in 2021 PPP lending to underserved communities during this period, providing 1.5 million loans totaling $30 billion. PPP loans in 2021 averaged $42,000, another indicator of targeted relief to the smallest small businesses.
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