State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI 2.0)

Fund Tennessee connects business owners and entrepreneurs with the right resources at the right time.

Fund Tennessee supports and expands an inclusive continuum of access to capital for small businesses and entrepreneurs throughout Tennessee.

The U.S. Department of Treasury (Treasury) is administering a second installment of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI 2.0)  as part of the American Jobs Plan. SSBCI 1.0 was passed in 2010 and ran from 2011 to 2017. For SSBCI 2.0, Treasury has allocated $10 billion to provide funding for (1) small business financing, and (2) technical assistance to help small and diverse businesses become capital ready. 

Tennessee's SSBCI 2.0 program, called Fund Tennessee, is comprised of InvestTN, the equity component, LendTN, the debt program, and AssistTN, encompaases the technical assistance components. Fund Tennessee will launch in early 2023.  Learn more about Fund Tennessee here

Note: We encourage those interested in Fund Tennessee (SSBCI 2.0) to sign-up for TNECD’s weekly newsletter, check back periodically, and/or especially for small business and entrepreneurs, visit FundTennessee

Funding Categories

U.S. Allocation

TN Allocation

Description

State Allocation

(See line 10)

$6 billion

$60,573,813

Based on 2020 unemployment figures

Technical Assistance

(See line 17)

$500 million

$3,848,992

Could be before or after loan or equity infusion, general assistance; to be allocated as a separate grant

Microenterprises (Very Small Businesses)

(See line 10)

$500 million

$4,816,620

Businesses with fewer than 10 employees

SEDI Business Allocation

(See line 19)

$1.5 billion

$33,612,467

Socially and Economically Disadvantaged Businesses (SEDI)

SEDI Business Incentives

(See line 11)

$1 billion

$17,926,649

Performance-based

Tribal Governments

(See line 8)

$500 million

N/A

Tennessee does not have any tribal governments

Total:

$10 billion

$116,929,549

 

Find a full list of allocations here.

ssbci

In Step 1, as part of the Discover Phase, small and diverse businesses, ESOs (entrepreneur support organizations), lenders/funders to small and diverse businesses, and stakeholders completed a public survey.  An overview of the results is here.

Current status: Step 4, Roll out and Launch

  • Approved: Tennessee's application, submitted February 11, 2022, final approval was announced by the Treasury on February 27, 2023. . 
  • LendTN: Completed its he submission period for the Intent to Participate for non-depository CDFIs and MDIs that serve Tennessee is closed. It was open from January 9 to February 8, 2023. Refer to the pre-Intent to Apply presentation here.

If you are a future, new, or existing DBE, small business owner, or entrepreneur looking for more resources now,  visit the BERO website and/or TNSmartStart to get your personalized list of resources, build your own business model canvas, or locate resources near you.

Contact Information

Website: FUNDTennessee

Phone: (615) 741-1888

Email: ecd.SSBCI2.0@tn.gov