Summit calls for more credit for small businesses
The state should create a fund to provide small businesses with the capital they need to grow and create jobs, according to participants in Governor Deval Patrick's economic summit, which was held yesterday.
Although its unclear how large the fund might be, it could aggregate money from a variety of public and private sources, including federal stimulus grants, state development agencies, the US Small Business Administration, and banks, said Ronald L. Walker II, president of the merchant bank Next Street Financial LLC of Boston. Walker led a working group on capital during the summit.
Many small businesses have had difficulty getting loans as banks tightened credit during the recession. Helping them to get financing was among the issues discussed at the summit, which brought together state officials, economists, and business and civic leaders. With signs that the economy has begun a turnaround, the idea behind the summit was to devise strategies to help the state "come out of this recession stronger and faster," Patrick told reporters after the event.
Participants at the summit also examined ways to tap into federal stimulus money and other funding, and take such steps to remove barriers to business expansion as lowering the costs of health care, unemployment insurance, and energy costs.
"We want to be in a position to bring jobs back,'' said Alan Macdonald, executive director of the Massachusetts Business Roundtable, a business advocacy group. "We want employers to understand that opportunities are here."
Patrick said he plans to launch initiatives based on summit recommendations within 30 to 90 days. The impact on the state's economy would be felt over the next 18 months, he said.
The national recession has hit Massachusetts hard. The state unemployment rate, at 9.3 percent, is the highest since the 1970s. The state has shed about 120,000 jobs since the recession began here in early 2008.
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