Services

Overview
The NBEDC team of professionals is ready to provide your business with the tools and expert advice you’ll need to flourish in today’s economy. The New Bedford Economic Development Council serves as your “one-stop” site for business assistance. We work cooperatively with dozens of local, state, and federal agencies so that no matter what your needs are, we can refer you to the appropriate office and person. The partnerships we’ve built over the years can help you, too.
Through our service programs we can help you by:

• structuring financial assistance and tax incentive packages
• maintaining a real estate database that lists commercial property available for lease, sale or development
• facilitating introductions to other federal, state and local support agencies
• providing technical assistance for project development.

About Our Loans
The New Bedford Economic Development Council has a portfolio of lending products to assist your business needs. Our financing programs include but are not limited to: Entrepreneurial Loan Fund, Fishing Assistance Loan Fund, and a Community Loan Fund. Additionally, we are a Micro-Loan lender for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Our Senior Loan officer can tell you which loans would be best for you and can guide you through the application process. Below you will find links to summaries and qualifications for each of the above mentioned loan programs.
The below files are in PDF Format

• Micro-Enterprise Loan Fund (MICRO) – (Loan Overview)
• EDA Revolving Loan Fund (Non-Fishing) – (Loan Overview)
• EDA Title IX Fisheries Assistance Revolving Loan Fund – (Loan Overview)

Micro-Loan Program
The New Bedford Economic Development Council, Inc. (NBEDC) established this assistance program with funds provided by the City of New Bedford made available under the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) entitlement and funding provided the US Small Business Administration (SBA). The Micro-Loan Program is designed to assist micro-enterprises, defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in regulation 24 CFR 570.201(0) as businesses having 5 employees or less, one or more of whom owns the business at the time of application.
This program provides financing to mirco-enterprises in loan amounts up to $35,000.
Under the Micro-Enterprise Loan Program, the NBEDC provides loans, which can be used for working capital, equipment, machinery, furnishings and other fixed assets, and to assist in the acquisition of land and buildings. A micro-enterprise business must demonstrate the ability to meet one of the following national objectives of CDBG funding:

• Low/Moderate Income Area Benefit – The micro-enterprise assisted must provide services to a residential area that has a sufficiently high percentage of Low/Moderate Income persons.
• Low/Moderate Income Limited Clientele – The micro-enterprise assistance is provided to a low/moderate income person(s) who own or are developing a micro-enterprise. In the instance that the micro-enterprise is owned by more than one person the micro-enterprise must demonstrate that 51% of the owners are low/moderate income persons.

Creative Economy Micro-Loan Program
This business sector specific micro-loan program funded by the NBEDC was established to assist small businesses operating within the creative economy and may be used for starting a business, working capital, studio space, equipment purchase, increasing capacity, and/or expanding retail. General Micro-Loan parameters apply with the addition of the following requirements:

• Have a home or studio in New Bedford
• Have worked in the creative medium for two or more years

In addition to providing financing, applicants in this program also receive business specific technical assistance.
Competitive Capital Access Program (CCAP)
This program provides financial assistance to small and medium sized businesses for which access to traditional financing sources is either not available or not cost effective. Funds must be utilized for capital expenditures involving equipment purchases, property improvement, expansion, relocation projects, or gap financing.
Funding under this program is intended to promote economic development by leveraging private and other public funding already committed to a project. CCAP also promotes the creation and retention of jobs, primarily for low to moderate income individuals within the community as applicants must comply with the job creation/retention requirements of the NBEDC as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development in regulation 24 CFR 570.201(0).
Loan amounts range from $35,000 – $75,000 with the possibility of loan amount exceptions to $150,000 approved by the NBEDC Board of Directors, and applicants must create or retain 1 job for every $35,000 borrowed. In addition, 51% of all jobs created or retained must be held by or made available to low/moderate income individuals.
Funding for this program is provided by a variety of sources including the City of New Bedford via CDBG, MassDevelopment, the EDA, and a number of private lending institutions who contribute to the NBEDC’s Lending Program.
Fisheries Assistance Loan Program
The New Bedford Economic Development Council established this program with a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration and matching private funds. This program created a revolving loan fund dedicated to the fishing industry and fishing-related businesses. The funds are intended to help stabilize the local fishing industry and strengthen the local economy by creating or retaining long term jobs for individuals in the fishing industry or individuals who have been displaced from the fishing industry.
Eligible businesses include:

• Vessels – Acquisition and equipment financing including overhauling mechanical components, gear repair, new equipment required by federal regulations, retrofit activities to accommodate new technology for underutilized or alternative species;
• Processors – Financing for the conversion of equipment to support improved processing techniques and retooling to process new product lines including underutilized or alternative species;
• Suppliers – Financing for new lines of inventory required under new fisheries guidelines, loans for short-term working capital needs resulting from mandated changes in the fishing industry;
• General Fishing-Related Businesses – Financing for small businesses with potential for growth and job creation in the geographic area affected by the dislocation of the fishing industry.

Loan amounts for this program also range from $35,000 – $75,000 with the possibility of loan amount exceptions to $150,000 approved by the NBEDC Board of Directors, and applicants must create or retain one job for every $35,000 borrowed. In addition, 51% of all jobs created or retained must be held by or made available to low/moderate income individuals.
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