BaltimoreMICRO: small businesses can apply for up to $30K through new micro-loan program

A new micro-loan program for Baltimore’s small businesses was unveiled by Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake the day before Thanksgiving, reports the Baltimore Business Journal:

From the report:

BaltimoreMICRO will allow small businesses — like retailers, contractors and service providers — to apply for loans from $5,000 to $30,000. To be eligible, the business must be based in Baltimore City and not have annual revenue exceeding $1 million. The owner of the business must have a personal credit score of 650 or higher. [more]

Ultimately, the point of the loan program is to create and keep businesses and jobs in Baltimore city, something crucial for the mayor to realize her goal of bringing 10,000 families into the city in the next decade.
BaltimoreMICRO itself will be administered by the Baltimore Development Corporation, the same organization that oversees the Emerging Technology Center and just named Brenda McKenzie as its new president.
As of Nov. 21, the city’s Board of Estimates approved a $125,000 contribution toward the MICRO fund.