Fund your Oklahoma business

When your own money isn’t enough, start with a no-cost advisor, then read what the state actually offers. The Department of Commerce says the state has no financing or grant program made for new small businesses. The state does run a lending program open to most Oklahoma businesses, start-ups included: the Oklahoma Business Lending Partnership of the Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology (OCAST)⁴, run by TEDC Creative Capital. Regular SBA loans come from a lender. One state technology program that used to make awards has ended.

What’s different in Oklahoma

• One-on-one advising is no-cost. The Oklahoma SBDC offers no-cost, confidential one-on-one consulting¹. Make an appointment.
• The state’s lending partnership can lend to you directly. OCAST does not make loans or investments directly. Its loans are run by TEDC Creative Capital, a community development financial institution, which can lend to the business directly or partner with an Oklahoma bank⁴.
• There are no general small business startup grants³. A local grant, if one exists, is something the SBDC or a chamber would know about. It is not a check for every new business.
• The technology financing program ended July 1, 2024, and is not taking new applications⁶.
• One SBA office covers the state. Oklahoma City serves all 77 counties⁷.

Do this

1. Write down what you need and what it’s for. Equipment, inventory, a purchase of a business, and rent are different asks. The commerce page says most new businesses are financed by the owners, and that banks often want a cash injection, collateral and a credit history.
2. Book no-cost advising. The Oklahoma SBDC about page says it offers no-cost, confidential one-on-one consulting¹. The client rights page adds that a fee is allowed for training, special services and publications. Normal counseling is not charged². Ask the center what a class costs before you sign up.
3. Use the SBA office for your address. The Oklahoma District Office at 301 NW 6th St., Oklahoma City, OK 73102 offers funding programs, counseling, federal contracting certifications and disaster recovery for all 77 counties⁷. There is not a second district for part of the state.
4. Understand who lends the regular SBA loans. 7(a) and the other ordinary SBA loans come from participating lenders, not the SBA. The SBA loans guide explains who makes each kind.
5. Ask TEDC about the state’s lending partnership. OCAST’s SSBCI page says the Oklahoma Business Lending Partnership is run by TEDC Creative Capital, a community development financial institution, which can lend to the business directly or partner with an Oklahoma bank. The program overview caps a loan at 5 million dollars. OCAST’s page says the preferred maximum is 500,000 dollars, counting the private match⁴. The loan is for an Oklahoma-based business with no more than 500 employees, with at least one guarantor whose credit score is 625 or higher. Eligible uses include start-up costs, working capital, equipment and inventory. Expect to need collateral and a personal guarantee from anyone who owns 20 percent or more. A start-up may also be asked to put in equity of at least 10 percent. Each program dollar needs a matching dollar borrowed from a private source, such as a bank, a credit union or a community development financial institution. New cash the owner puts into the business for the project will also be considered. The partnership does not fund any part of an SBA-guaranteed loan. Call TEDC at 918-585-8332⁵ for the current rate, fees and application list.
6. Read the commerce financing page for the other routes. The financing and grants page says there are no specific financing or grant programs for new small businesses, and that there are no general small business startup grants³. It names savings, friends and family, a bank or microloan, an SBA loan through a lender, and personal credit. It does not mention the lending partnership. Be wary of anyone selling access to a guaranteed grant.
7. Treat the old technology program as closed. The evaluation of OCAST’s technology business financing program says awards generally ranged from 20,000 to 50,000 dollars, repaid through royalties, and that the program ended July 1, 2024, and is not taking new applications⁶. It was for commercializing a new product or process, not a grant for every startup.
8. Keep your paperwork ready. Lenders and advisors ask for your formation documents and EIN. Register your business and Get your tax IDs.
9. After a declared disaster, the SBA can lend directly. Disaster assistance covers several kinds of loan, including physical damage, economic injury and military reservist economic injury, for a declared disaster, and only if you qualify⁸. 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 asks for. A loan decision comes only if you qualify: from TEDC or its partner bank on the state’s lending partnership, from a lender on a regular SBA loan, or from the SBA on a disaster loan. These pages do not promise a finished plan or an approval.