Small Businesses with Less than 20 Employees Given Priority Loan Access through Payroll Protection Program

Small businesses in Colorado with fewer than 20 employees will be given a fourteen-day priority access window to apply for federal Paycheck Protection Program loans starting, Wednesday, February 24 through Tuesday, March 9, to help them with COVID-19 economic impacts.

The current pool of Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans sanctioned under the Congressionally approved Economic Aid to Hard-Hit Small Businesses, Nonprofits, and Venues Act in December is reserved for small businesses with revenues still experiencing a 25 percent decrease from pre-pandemic levels. Colorado accounts for approximately two percent of all domestic small businesses and received 2.1 percent of the total number of PPP loans in last year’s initial round of relief for a total contribution of $10,402,528,373 to the state’s economy.

“98 percent of Colorado’s businesses are small businesses and, statistically, 89 percent of all small businesses have fewer than 20 employees,” said OEDIT Executive Director Betsy Markey. “This priority window is a tremendous opportunity for our Colorado small businesses and entities such as contractors, beauticians, and independent retailers who file individually to gain priority access to the Payroll Paycheck Program loans they need,” Betsy said.

Colorado small businesses have received over $2.8B of round three PPP loans so far this year. PPP loans can be converted into grants if the eligible recipients utilize the funds to pay their workers, as the program outlines.

The Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade’s (OEDIT) Small Business Development Centers and Minority Business Office are available to assist with accessing these funds. Both offer technical assistance free of charge in addition to one on one consulting to aid in answering questions as well as providing needed support.

For more information regarding COVID-19 business and nonprofit resources, as well as more about the Colorado Office of Economic Development and International Trade, visit https://oedit.colorado.gov/covid19#ppp.