Pennsylvania Covid-19 Working Capital Access Program

On Wednesday, March 25th, Governor Wolf announced the COVID-19 Working Capital Access (CWCA) Program, a new program under the Pennsylvania Industrial Development Authority’s (PIDA) Small Business First Fund.  Through the CWCA, PIDA has authorized making $60 million in funds available to provide working capital loans of up to $100,000 to for-profit business with 100 or fewer full-time employees

Here are the key details of the CWCA:

Eligibility

Eligible businesses must:

• be a for-profit corporation, LLC, partnership, proprietorship or other legal business entity located in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• have fewer than 100 employees worldwide at the time of application.

Eligible costs include:

• working capital, which is considered capital used by a small business for operations (excluding fixed assets and production machinery and equipment).

Loan Amounts, Matching Investment, Job-Requirements

• Maximum loan amount is $100,000.
• No match is required except for retail/service enterprises.  For these companies, the CWCA can finance 50% of working capital up to a maximum of $100,000.  (See this link for a definition of retail/service enterprise: https://dced.pa.gov/download/covid-19-working-capital-access-program-factsheet/?wpdmdl=93768). 
• No job retention/creation requirements.

Terms

• 0% interest rate for all entities except agricultural producers.
• 2% interest rate for agricultural producers (See this link for a definition of agricultural producers: https://dced.pa.gov/download/covid-19-working-capital-access-program-factsheet/?wpdmdl=93768).
• Three-year term with a 12 year amortization.
• No payments due or payable in year one.
• Principal and interest, if applicable, due monthly in years two and three.
• Balloon payment at the end of year three.
• Loan will be secured by a blanket lien on all business assets currently owned or acquired in the future at the highest lien position available. 
• Loan will be guaranteed by any individual or entity with a 20% or greater ownership interest in the entity.

Application Process

• Applications are done in conjunction with certified economic development organizations (CEDOs).  A CEDO serves a one county area or multicounty region.  They will work directly with an applicant to determine if the program can be of assistance and discuss the application process in detail.  The CEDO submits the application to PIDA.  You can find a CEDO in your county here: https://dced.pa.gov/CEDO/.

Full details on the program can be found here: https://dced.pa.gov/programs/covid-19-working-capital-access-program-cwca/.

If you need more information, please reach out to any of your contacts at Schneider Downs or contact Joel Rosenthal ([email protected]) or Steve Thimons ([email protected])  directly.

Please visit our Coronavirus Resource Center for related content.