Minnesota Reservist and Veteran
Business Loan Program
Eligibility
Business Loans Eligibility
By state law, an eligible business must be a “small business” and must:
- Be a for-profit business which is not an affiliate or subsidiary of a business dominant in its field of operations
- Have 20 or fewer full-time employees, or
- Have had less than $1 million in annual gross revenue in the preceding fiscal year, or
- Have had less than $2.5 million in annual gross revenue in the preceding fiscal year if the business is a technical or professional service
In addition, the business must be operating in Minnesota on the date that one or more essential employees received orders for active service of 180 days or more and be sustaining or likely to sustain suffering substantial economic injury.
Active service includes state active service, federally funded state active service, and federal active service.
Essential employees are defined as:
- A military reservist, and
- An owner or employee of an eligible business, and
- Someone who has managerial or technical expertise critical to the day-to-day operations of the business
To meet the criteria for “substantial economic injury,” a business must be sustaining or likely to sustain an economic harm, meaning it cannot currently or anticipates future inability to:
- Meet its obligations as they mature, or
- Pay its ordinary and necessary operating expenses, or
- Manufacture, produce, market, or provide a product or service as it has ordinarily done
Start Up Business Loan Eligibility
To qualify for startup loans, veterans may be beginning their business from scratch or may have already launched the business but still meet certain financial thresholds.
By state law, an eligible business must be a veteran-owned “small business” and must:
- Be majority-owned and operated by a veteran recently separated from active duty
- Be a for-profit business that is not an affiliate or subsidiary of a business dominant in its field of operations
- Have 20 or fewer full-time employees, or
- Have had less than $1 million in annual gross revenue in the preceding fiscal year, or
- Have had less than $2.5 million in annual gross revenue in the preceding fiscal year if the business is a technical or professional service
Veterans that qualify under this program must:
- Have been on active duty on or after September 11, 2001, and
- Have been separated from service under honorable conditions after having been on active duty for at least 181 consecutive days or for the full period for which called to active duty (or after reason of disability incurred while on active duty)
For More Information
Contact Jeff Nelson at 651-259-7523 or email Jeff.M.Nelson@state.mn.us