MN · State guide

Business loans in Minnesota

Minnesota businesses can reach three separate pools of money: lenders that publish availability here, the state's own financing programs, and federal SBA lending through local participants. We have 10 state programs on file with published terms, and 1 still linked from live government pages that is no longer open.

8 cities covered Checked 14 Sep 2026
Get funding in Minnesota See the shortlist

Where to start in Minnesota

No lender here publishes a state-by-state availability list naming MN, so this is the directory ranked by how much each one puts on the record. Absence from a list nobody publishes means nothing.

  1. 100%

    Forward Financing

    $5K – $500K Same day Credit from 500
    9/9 on the record
  2. 100%

    ROK Financial

    $10K – $5M 1-3 days Credit from 500
    9/9 on the record
  3. 100%

    South End Capital

    $1K – $5M Same-day funding available Credit from 650
    9/9 on the record
  4. 89%

    Bizcap US

    Up to $2M Same day Credit from 550
    8/9 on the record
  5. 89%

    ByzFunder

    Up to $500K Same day Credit from 525
    8/9 on the record
  6. 89%

    Fora Financial

    $5K – $1.5M As little as 24 hours Credit from 570
    8/9 on the record
  7. 89%

    Fox Business Funding

    Up to $1M As little as 2 business days Credit from 550
    8/9 on the record
  8. 89%

    National Funding

    $6K – $500K As fast as 24 hours Credit from 600
    8/9 on the record
  9. 89%

    Straight Line Source

    Partner
    $5K – $10M Same day Credit from 500
    8/9 on the record
  10. 78%

    Biz2Credit

    $25K – $2M Decision as fast as 24 hours Credit from 650
    7/9 on the record
  11. 78%

    CAN Capital

    $2K – $400K As fast as the next business day Credit from 600
    7/9 on the record
  12. 78%

    Credibly

    $5K – $10M As fast as 4 hours after approval Credit from 550
    7/9 on the record
published not published Ordered by disclosure, not by what anyone pays us. The score is a count of what a lender publishes, not a rating of the lender.

Lenders that exclude Minnesota

A published no is worth as much as a published yes, and almost nobody shows it.

Biz2Credit

What Minnesota itself funds

Minnesota Loan Guarantee Program (SSBCI)Administered by Minnesota DEED, through enrolled lenders. Partial guarantees that reduce lender risk on loans to small businesses. Published amounts: "Up to 80% loan guarantees, maximum $800,000"; guarantee fee of 0.25%. Eligibility as published: SSBCI-qualified small businesses borrowing from a DEED-approved lender (lender directory published).
Small Business Loan Participation Program (SSBCI)Administered by Minnesota DEED, through enrolled lenders. DEED purchase of a portion of a lender-originated small business loan. Published amounts: Participation of "$10,000-$250,000" per loan. Eligibility as published: SSBCI-qualified small businesses and microenterprises.
Automation Loan Participation Program (SSBCI)Administered by Minnesota DEED. Machinery and equipment upgrades / automation investment. Published amounts: Up to $500,000; "5-7 years at 1% interest". Eligibility as published: Manufacturing, distribution, technology and warehousing firms with fewer than 500 employees; private financing match required.
Growth Loan Fund (SSBCI)Administered by Minnesota DEED. Loans to early-stage companies preparing for an equity investment round. Published amounts: "$100,000-$400,000 based on 20% of investment round". Eligibility as published: Businesses that have raised under $250,000, or pre-Series A companies; the firm must complete its equity raise within 12 months.
Direct Investment Venture Capital Program (SSBCI)Administered by Minnesota DEED; applications through the University of Minnesota. Direct equity investment in seed and early-stage innovative companies in designated sectors. Eligibility as published: Seed and early-stage Minnesota companies in targeted sectors.
Multi-Fund Venture Capital Program (SSBCI)Administered by Minnesota DEED. Investments into "venture capital funds that will invest in innovative Minnesota-based businesses". Eligibility as published: Venture capital funds investing in Minnesota businesses.
Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program (ELP)Administered by Minnesota DEED, through a network of nonprofit lenders, Tribal economic development entities and CDFIs. Loan capital for businesses owned by underserved entrepreneurs. Statutory purpose (Minn. Stat. sec. 116M.18): "encourage private investment, provide jobs for minority and low-income persons, create and strengthen minority business enterprises, and promote economic development in low-income areas." Published amounts: Loans of $5,000 to $150,000. Beginning Microenterprises (startups with under two years of revenue and fewer than five employees): up to $40,000, or $55,000 if located in a low-income area. Eligibility as published: Individuals owning and operating at least 51% of the business must be minorities, low-income persons, women, veterans, or people with disabilities. Low-income means "below eighty percent of median income, adjusted for family size, for their county of residence."
Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF)Administered by Minnesota DEED (awards typically made through local units of government). "Provides financing to help companies expand, add workers and retain high-quality jobs," with emphasis on industrial, manufacturing and technology-related sectors.
Minnesota Job Creation FundAdministered by Minnesota DEED. Pay-for-performance awards to businesses that meet job creation and capital investment targets; also facility construction, renovation and property improvements. Published amounts: "Provides up to $1 million after specified job creation and capital investment goals are achieved"; up to $2 million in some cases. Eligibility as published: Businesses deemed eligible to participate that meet specified job creation and capital investment targets.
Minnesota Forward FundAdministered by Minnesota DEED. "Provides grants and loans to businesses making large private capital investments in new and existing industries for which federal funding requires a state match."

Programs whose current status is not stated

These are published on official pages that say nothing about whether applications are open. We have not assumed either way — confirm with the administrator before you plan around one.

Promise Loan Program"Provides loans to businesses located in communities adversely affected by racial discrimination, civil unrest, and other challenges."

Native American Business Loan Program

Reservist and Veteran Business Loan Program

Small Business Environmental Improvement Loan Program

Programs you may still see linked that are not open

Each of these is still reachable from a live government page, and none of them is currently accepting applications. A live link is not an open program, and finding that out after you have built a plan around one costs weeks.

Minnesota Main Street Economic Revitalization ProgramCLOSED BUT STILL LISTED ON DEED'S LIVE FINANCING PROGRAMS INDEX. Program page states: "The request for proposals for the final round of this program was closed on November 22, 2024."

Federal money behind these programs

Minnesota was allocated $97,012,596 under the federal State Small Business Credit Initiative, which is what funds most of the credit enhancements above. SSBCI money reaches businesses through participating lenders rather than from the state directly, so the application still goes through a bank or a CDFI.

What we could not confirm

43 cities with 2020 census population of 25,000 or more. Just below the threshold and excluded: White Bear Lake 24,883; Champlin (approximately 24,700, not separately verified); Faribault 24,453; Farmington 23,632; New Brighton 23,454; Crystal 23,330. SOURCING CAVEAT ON PROGRAMS: mn.gov DEED program pages returned only the site's navigation menu to the fetch tool on every attempt, so program detail was read from DEED's alternate host joinusmn.com (identical DEED content) and from DEED's own PDF publications; source_url records the canonical mn.gov URL in each case. Four programs on DEED's financing index (Promise Loan, Native American Business Loan, Reservist and Veteran Business Loan, Small Business Environmental Improvement Loan) could not be read on either host and are recorded with null fields and appears_active null rather than assumed open. DEED's index also lists programs not covered above because they are not business lending or grant capital in the directory's sense: Minnesota Foreign Trade Zones, Minnesota 21st Century Fund, Child Care Economic Development Grant, SBIR-STTR support, EB-5, Community Wealth Building, CanNavigate/CanStartup/CanAssist (cannabis industry), Promise Act Grant Program and the Emerging Developer Fund.

Headquartered in Minnesota

Where a lender is based says nothing about where it lends. It is here because businesses ask.

South End Capital

Cities in Minnesota

BlaineDuluthLakevilleMinneapolisRochesterSaint PaulShakopeeWoodbury

More for Minnesota

GuideSmall business funding in Minnesota: the widest state programme menu in the region Minnesota runs a loan guarantee, three loan participation products and two venture programmes, which is more than most states attempt.

Business funding in Minnesota — common questions

Can I get business funding in Minnesota?

Yes. 12 funders in this directory serve businesses in Minnesota, and 0 of them name Minnesota explicitly in their published availability rather than being included by default.

Does Minnesota require lenders to disclose the cost of business financing?

Minnesota's position is set out on this page. As of 2026 only a small number of states require a commercial financing disclosure, and in the rest you will not receive one — which means you have to ask for the total dollar cost, the term and every fee in writing yourself.

Are there state programmes for small business capital in Minnesota?

3 state-level programmes are recorded here with a link to the administering agency. Programmes open and close, so confirm the current position on the agency's own site before relying on one.

Is a merchant cash advance legal in Minnesota?

Commercial financing generally sits outside the consumer credit rules most people have heard of, and most state usury caps do not reach business-purpose transactions. What varies is disclosure, broker registration and lender licensing. This is general information, not legal advice for your situation.

How do I check for liens filed against my business in Minnesota?

Through Minnesota's UCC filing office, which is named on this page. Search your exact registered entity name — a filing under a slightly different name will not come back, and neither will a stale one nobody terminated.

Which lenders will not fund in Minnesota?

Where a funder publishes an excluded-states list, this page shows it. Many publish nothing, which is not the same as being available — it means you have to ask.

Does being based in Minnesota change what I pay?

Not directly in most cases. What changes is what you are told before you sign, and what recourse you have afterwards, both of which depend on your state's rules and on the jurisdiction clause in the contract.

What should I have ready before applying?

Three months of business bank statements, your time in business from a verifiable date, average monthly deposits, your entity's good standing, and a clear figure for what you need and what for.

How current is this page?

Every figure carries the date it was checked. Where a check has passed its review date the page says so rather than presenting as current.