TAMPA, Florida — As some small business owners struggle to pick up the pieces after Hurricane Idalia, Florida is offering some financial relief.
In the days following the Category 3 storm, Gov. Ron DeSantis activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program, making $20 million available to business owners affected by Idalia.
The program provides short-term, zero-interest working capital loans with the goal of bridging the gap between when a disaster impacts a business and when that business is able to secure the funds to recover.
Small business owners, including sole proprietors, who experienced economic or physical damage during Idalia can apply for loans of up to $50,000 at FloridaJobs.org/EBL. Those interested can apply through Oct. 25, or until the $20 million runs out.
Tampa Bay-area counties eligible for the program include Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco and Pinellas counties.
Florida leaders remind business owners that these are not grants and must be repaid. They can, however, be repaid using longer-term financial resources, such as U.S. Small Business Administration economic injury disaster loans.
For more information about the program, business owners can call 833-832-4494 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
10 Tampa Bay spoke with some small business owners in Tarpon Springs who experienced what they described as the "most severe flooding in decades.
Olga Banis works at a downtown shop called "My Favorite Store" and saw the storm's aftermath firsthand.
"A total river and a lot of stores took on a lot of water," she said.
Banis said it took workers eight hours to clean up My Favorite Store, and even with their preparations, inventory was lost.
10 Tampa Bay reporter Hannah Dineen contributed to this report.
