North Central chamber’s lending division offering $10K loans to businesses impacted by flooding

Photo | Courtesy of North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce Roy Nascimento, president & CEO, North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, which includes the North Central Mass. Development Corp.

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By Timothy Doyle

The North Central Massachusetts Development Corp., an affiliate of the Fitchburg-based North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce is offering loans of up to $10,000 at 1% interest to businesses affected by the devastating flooding in Northern Worcester County on Sept. 11.

Businesses eligible for the North Central Emergency Relief Loan program must have been in operation at the time of the disaster, with funding utilized for losses caused by the flooding in North Central Massachusetts and for flood remediation expenses. Businesses meeting the loan program criteria can expect to receive funding within two weeks and as quickly as one week of a completed application, according to a Friday press release from the NCMCC.

“We expect some small businesses will need access to immediate funds as they work on remediation efforts or experience closures for an extended period of time while they recover from the historic floods our region faced on September 11,” chamber President and CEO Roy Nascimento said in the press release. “With the support of our board of directors and the hard work of our staff, we wanted to provide an option for our affected businesses to ensure they are back up and running as quickly as possible.”

Loans are available, with up to six months of interest-only or deferred payments, then up to a 36-month repayment term with no pre-payment penalty.

“Should businesses incur expenses above and beyond this loan, we can work with them using our traditional loan programs and full underwriting practices,” Nascimento said.

As part of its relationship with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the NCMDC can provide loans up to $250,000 for working capital, equipment, real estate, and expansion. NCMDC is the lending division of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce.