Indiana Statewide CDC touts 2021 loan efforts

INDIANAPOLIS (Inside INdiana Business) — The Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corp. in Indianapolis says it provided the most money from the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan program in 2021. The organization says it approved 51 loans totaling more than $34 million to Hoosier small business owners during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30.

Indiana Statewide CDC is one of five organizations certified by the SBA to issue loans from the 504 small business program. Combined with down payments from business owners and funds from lending partners, the organization says the total investment over the last year exceeded $85 million.

The loans created or saved more than 450 jobs in communities throughout the state, according to the organization.

“The SBA 504 loans provide unique protection for borrowers and the bank lenders,” said Jean Wojtowicz, executive director of Indiana Statewide CDC. “One of them is the ability to refinance existing debt at a low, fixed-interest rate. Many of our borrowers used this feature to help them recover ground lost due to the pandemic. We continued to be grateful to our more than 30 lending partners and to our small-business borrowers for letting us help them build their futures. Their optimism and energy always inspire us.”

Indiana Statewide CDC says small business owners use the SBA 504 loans to buy real estate, buildings, equipment or to refinance fixed asset debt. The organization says it has approved more than $760 million in financing for more than 1,600 Indiana companies since 1983.