The State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) is a program that the United States Department of Treasury created to support small businesses nationwide. SSBCI provides millions of dollars to state-level programs that offer small business loans, equity-based capital, loan guarantees, and other forms of credit assistance. In Mississippi, the Mississippi Development Authority oversees programs that offer loans, loan guarantees and other business assistance and incentives.

In 2022, MDA named Innovate Mississippi the main contractor to manage the equity-based programs: Direct and Fund to Funds. Mississippi applied to the U.S. Treasury to participate, and Innovate Mississippi began outlining a plan for the two SSBCI programs. 

By early 2023, Innovate Mississippi concluded a Requests for Information (RFI) for the Fund to Funds program. There, potential fund administrators were able share their fund goals with Innovate Mississippi and detail how they could invest in Mississippi startups and bring millions of new equity-based dollars into the state under the program’s guidelines. The next step, Requests for Proposals (RFP) will begin this summer after Treasury approves the state’s application.

SSBCI in Mississippi will benefit two significant pools of participants: investors and startups. Through the Fund to Funds program, fund investors can use SSBCI dollars to match their newly raised private capital funds, such that a qualifying $1 million fund can become a $2 million fund. The fund can then invest SSBCI capital in qualifying startups on the same terms the fund investors accept.

The SSBCI Direct Program in Mississippi will allow individual startups to apply for 1:1 match funding. These companies must secure a lead investor with equity-based private investment, present a viable growth plan, and meet other criteria to qualify for the SSBCI match. Capital returns from the SSBCI investments will be put into a statewide fund for reinvestment.

Visit the SSBCI in Mississippi section of the Innovate Mississippi website for more information on the statewide program. See the Treasury Department’s SSBCI Program page for details on the federal program.