Fund your Montana business

When your own money is not enough, start with an SBDC advisor, then read which program actually pays. On the Board of Investments and SSBCI programs below, a lender originates the loan and the state buys a share. Growth Through Agriculture is the program that can grant or lend for an agriculture project. A certified microbusiness development corporation can lend to a very small business itself. Regular SBA loans also come from a lender.

What’s different in Montana

• SBDC counseling and workshops have different terms. The SBDC offers free, confidential, one-on-one advising. Workshop prices are not listed on its FAQ. The SBDC does not lend and does not give grants².
• The named grant is agricultural, and it is not opening-day cash for every business. Grants go up to $50,000. Loans go up to $100,000³. Both need a dollar-for-dollar match⁴.
• A very small business can borrow without a bank. The state's MicroBusiness Finance Program funds certified microbusiness development corporations (MBDCs). They lend up to $100,000 to businesses with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees and gross annual revenues under $1 million⁵.
• Other state participation sits with a lender. The Board’s business loan program does not write the check to you. SSBCI’s original allocation is already committed.
• One district, two offices, every county. The main office is in Helena. The other is Billings, a virtual office⁸. Both cover the state.

Do this

1. Write down what you need and what it is for. Equipment, inventory, a line of credit, and an agriculture processing project are different asks. The program pages below do not fund all of them.
2. Book SBDC advising. The Montana SBDC has 10 regional centers¹ and offers free, confidential, one-on-one advising, including startup help and loan packaging. Guidance while you write the plan and the loan or grant paperwork. The advisor does not write it for you. The SBDC does not lend and does not give grants. Most training programs, workshops and conferences are offered at a fee², and the FAQ does not say what that fee is.* Ask what a class costs before you sign up. What you get from the appointment is help preparing the paperwork, not a finished plan and not an approval.
3. Use the SBA offices for the whole state. The Montana District Office has offices in Helena and Billings, a virtual office, and it covers the entire state. Both offices serve all 56 counties⁸. There is not a second district for part of the state.
4. Understand who lends the regular SBA loans. On the SBA loans page, 7(a) loans are delivered by SBA 7(a) lenders and microloans are provided by intermediary lenders⁹. The SBA loans guide explains who makes each kind.
5. If the project adds value to Montana agriculture, read Growth Through Agriculture before you treat it as a general grant. The program is a grant and loan program for projects that add value to Montana agricultural products. Award amounts on the program page are grants up to $50,000 and loans up to $100,000³. One application can combine them up to $150,000. Every proposal needs a dollar-for-dollar match. The council wants a project that can show more sales or jobs. Examples of what it pays for include equipment, advertising, and engineering help. An organization other than a sole proprietorship has to be registered with the Secretary of State before it applies. The applying page lists this round as pre-applications opening October 5, 2026, due November 9, 2026, at 5:00 p.m., with full applications due February 8, 2027, at 5:00 p.m.⁴ That schedule is the round printed on the page. A later round can move. Be wary of anyone selling access to a guaranteed grant.
6. If the business is very small, ask a certified MBDC for a microloan. The state's MicroBusiness Finance Program funds certified microbusiness development corporations (MBDCs). They lend up to $100,000 to businesses with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees and gross annual revenues under $1 million. A Montana-based business applies by contacting a certified MBDC, and the program page lists the offices. The MBDC underwrites and services the loan itself, so you do not need a bank to bring it. MBDCs also deliver training and technical assistance⁵.
7. Use the Board of Investments when a lender is already willing to make the loan. The Board of Investments does not lend directly to businesses. An approved lender submits the application. The business loan participation program offers fixed-rate financing up to 25 years. The Board’s share is up to 80% of the lender’s loan if the loan-to-value is 75% or less. The Board still does its own credit review. Creating jobs may reduce the Board’s interest rate by up to 2.5%. The reservation fee is 0.25% of the amount the Board participates in, and the lender pays it. The same page has other programs. The infrastructure loan goes to a local government, not to the business. The business has to create at least 15 full-time jobs⁷. A sawmill program and a value-added program are also lender participations, with their own job and size tests. An intermediary relending loan goes to a local economic development organization, not to a new shop. Read the section for the program you are actually using.
8. Treat SSBCI as recycled funds, not a new allocation. The program is for existing Montana businesses that need more borrowing and new Montana businesses entering the market, and it participates through a lender. The participation rate is 50%. Eligible uses include real estate, equipment, working capital, and non-speculative new businesses, among other uses. Borrowers must have fewer than 750 employees. The maximum participation is 1 million dollars, and the page says a larger share can be considered only with a growth case. The original federal allocation is fully committed. Applications are open only for recycled funds, through a participating CDFI or revolving loan fund⁶. The participating lender starts the application. You do not file that application on your own.
9. Keep your paperwork ready. Lenders ask for formation documents and an EIN. Register your business and Get your tax IDs are the Montana versions.
10. After a declared disaster, the SBA can lend directly. Disaster assistance covers several kinds of loan the SBA makes itself after a declared disaster, including physical damage, economic injury, and military reservist economic injury, and only if you qualify¹⁰. A disaster by itself does not qualify you. Check the declaration and the loan type before you apply.

What you get back

An appointment with an advisor, and help preparing what a lender or the agriculture council asks for. A loan decision comes only if you qualify, from the MBDC on a microloan, from the lender on a participation loan, from the council on a Growth Through Agriculture application, and from the Board or the SSBCI review on whether the state takes its share. These pages do not promise a finished plan or an approval.