‘Revolving loans’ designed to generate new business investments, create jobs

When Dr. Annette Beasley moved her family health-care practice to New Middletown from New Albany earlier this year, one bit of financial backing she utilized was the Business Development Revolving Loan Fund.
The fund helped in terms of bridge-gap financing, aiding Beasley in the purchase of property and the construction of her office.
It’s that kind of help that the Chamber of Commerce of Harrison County hopes to provide to other businesses that need a financial boost.
The Harrison County Economic Development Corp. secured $90,000 from an Indiana Rural Development Grant, with an additional $100,000 coming from the corporation towards the start of the fund.
The fund is to provide for retention and expansion of business opportunities in Harrison County. The loan can be used for purchase of capital equipment, acquisitions of land or new construction, renovations or additions to facilities, working capital, new product development and the creation or retention of jobs for low- to moderate-income workers.
‘The Revolving Loan Program will be a mechanism to generate new business investment and create jobs in Harrison County,’ said Barbara Middleton, executive director of the Chamber. ‘The idea is not to loan at a lower rate, but to assist in gap financing. The fund is to help existing businesses expand or new businesses form, or to help entrepreneurs get a start in what they are doing. It’s not to totally finance what they are doing, but to aid them in what they are doing.’
The maximum length of the fixed-rate loan is about five years, Middleton said.
Completed loan applications will be returned to the Chamber of Commerce of Harrison County and will be considered by a Loan Review Committee made up of several bank loan officers and businessmen.
The application and approval process is similar to the process required for conventional financing from a financial institution.
Applications can be picked up at the Chamber office, located at 119 E. Beaver St. in Corydon.