VALDOSTA — With the necessary paperwork completed, the South Georgia Regional Commission began accepting applications last week for small business loans from the CARES Act.

Two weeks ago, SGRC was tapped to receive an $825,000 “recovery assistance grant” to encourage business development and job creation in South Georgia. That money will now be available for revolving loan funds (a type of small business loan), administered by SGRC, to small businesses in Atkinson, Bacon, Ben Hill, Berrien, Brantley, Brooks, Charlton, Clinch, Coffee, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Lowndes, Pierce, Tift, Turner and Ware counties.

Businesses applying for the loan can expect cash in hand in roughly two weeks, said Rex Dorsey, SGRC director of lending.

“I would like to think within about two weeks, we should be able to have you money,” he said.

A few applications have already been submitted to SGRC, Dorsey said, but no loans had been doled out as of late last week.

There has been some confusion about the $825,000 being a grant, Dorsey said, but the money will be a loan. The federal grant to SGRC includes an interest rate to cover facilitating costs, he said. 

The RLF loans will be a minimum of $25,000 and while SGRC has not yet set a maximum or minimum interest rate, it “should be lower than the market rate” at or below 4%, Dorsey said.

Minimum loan amounts will be $25,000 because of the lack of manpower to access and facilitate small loans.

“We’re a small staff,” Dorsey said. “We can’t give out a bunch of micro loans and manage them.”

The application process requires two approvals: one from the SGRC board then another from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. Dorsey said his team will try its best to move the loan applications through to provide needed relief to local businesses.

“We should be able to turn it around quickly on our end,” he said.

Applications can be found on the SGRC website at https://sgrc.us/lending.html.