Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program — USDA Rural Development funding opportunity
USDA Rural Development · Federal agency

Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program

This program provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development To help microenterprises startup and grow and provide training and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and micro entrepreneurs. Rural Microent...

68
match
Award Up to $100k Deadline Rolling Location Alabama Type grant Level Federal Open
✦ AI Summary
  • Who can apply: Federal-level applicants (see eligibility for details).
  • Funding amount: up to $100,000.
  • Deadline: Rolling — applications accepted any time.
  • Catch: Match funding required — you must contribute your own money on top of the award.
  • Issued by: USDA Rural Development.
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How was this generated?

The “key facts” mode pulls structured fields directly from the official source posting (amount, deadline, eligibility tags). The AI mode adds a short plain-English narrative on top, generated from the same source. Always verify with the agency before applying.

AI-generated. Always verify with the official source.

Who can apply — at a glance

  • Eligible applicants: see the Eligibility tab for the criteria from the official announcement.
  • Where: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, District of Columbia.
  • Award: Up to $100k.
  • Matching funds: required.
  • Deadline type: Rolling.

Compiled from the official listing's structured fields — always verify with the funder before applying.

About the funder

USDA Rural Development is a federal-level funder.

See all 32 open programs from this agency →

Award amount
Up to $100k
Deadline
Rolling
Match required
Yes

About this opportunity

This program provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development To help microenterprises startup and grow and provide training and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and micro entrepreneurs. Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program Application Window: Open Program Application Period: The deadlines for completed applications to be received in the RD State Office for quarterly funding competitions are no later than 11:59 Eastern time on: First Quarter, September 30, 2025 Second Quarter, December 31, 2025 Third Quarter, March 31, 2026 Fourth Quarter, June 30, 2026 The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) will be published on Grants.gov for this fiscal year. A link will be forthcoming to this page. Good to Know: To begin, contact a program official in your state (see contact tab below) to review the requirements for completing an application. The preparation process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months, depending on the complexity of the application and the completeness of the materials provided. For state specific information: -- Select State -- Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Rhode Island Delaware and Maryland Florida and Virgin Islands Georgia Hawaii and Western Pacific Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont and New Hampshire Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Fact Sheet Federal Register Notice Overview To Apply Other Requirements Contact Events Overview What does this program do? It provides loans and grants to Microenterprise Development Organizations (MDOs) to: To help microenterprises startup and growth through a Rural Microloan Revolving Fund. Provide training and technical assistance to microloan borrowers and micro entrepreneurs. Who may apply for this program? The following are eligible to be a Microenterprise Development Organization: Nonprofits. Federally-recognized tribes. Institutions of higher education. The following are eligible to apply for a loan from the MDO as an ultimate recipient: Businesses located in an eligible area with 10 or fewer full-time employees. What is an eligible area? Rural areas outside a city or town with a population of fewer than 50,000 residents. Urbanized areas near a city of 50,000 or more may not be eligible. The borrower’s headquarters may be based within a larger city so long as the project service area is located in an eligible rural area. The lender may be located anywhere. Check eligible addresses for Business Programs. Are there other requirements? Microenterprise Development Organizations must demonstrate experience in managing a Revolving Loan Fund, or: Certify that it or its employees have received education and training from a qualified microenterprise development training entity so that the applicant has the capacity to manage such a revolving loan fund. Demonstrate that it is actively and successfully participating as an intermediary lender in good standing under the Small Business Administration (SBA) Microloan Program or other similar loan programs as determined by the Administrator. What kind of funding is available? Grants are available to provide technical assistance to rural micro-entrepreneurs or microenterprises, up to $100,000 annually. Funding at the requested level is not guaranteed, and at least 15 percent matching funds are required. Loans of $50,000 to $500,000 may be used for establishing a Rural Microloan Revolving Fund managed by the Microenterprise Development Organization. Total aggregate debt is capped at $2.5 million. What are the loan terms? Maximum term is 20 years. Two-year payment deferral. Must establish a loan loss reserve f

Funding agency

USDA Rural Development
Federal agency

Tags

Agriculture & Farming Nonprofit & Community Small Business Education & Research Tribal & Native Rural Development Finance & Capital Access rural rural-development business
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Who can apply

Eligibility details aren't on file yet — check the agency source link in the Documents tab for the latest rules.

Geographic eligibility

  • Alabama
  • Alaska
  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • California
  • Colorado
  • Connecticut
  • Delaware
  • Florida
  • Georgia
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Illinois
  • Indiana
  • Iowa
  • Kansas
  • Kentucky
  • Louisiana
  • Maine
  • Maryland
  • Massachusetts
  • Michigan
  • Minnesota
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Hampshire
  • New Jersey
  • New Mexico
  • New York
  • North Carolina
  • North Dakota
  • Ohio
  • Oklahoma
  • Oregon
  • Pennsylvania
  • Rhode Island
  • South Carolina
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Texas
  • Utah
  • Vermont
  • Virginia
  • Washington
  • West Virginia
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming
  • District of Columbia
Match contribution required

Applicants must contribute a portion of the project cost from non-federal sources. Confirm exact match rules with the agency before applying.

How to apply

We don't have application instructions on file yet — head straight to the official source.

Apply on agency site
Tip from our team:

Read the agency's eligibility checklist before you start — it's almost always shorter than the full NOFO and will tell you in 90 seconds whether to keep going.

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Source documents

View on agency site
Canonical NOFO, application packet, and forms
No supplemental documents yet.

Direct downloads (NOFO PDFs, application forms, FAQs) will appear here once our team attaches them. For now, the agency site has the canonical packet.

Citation details

Source systemusda-rd
Source IDrural-microentrepreneur-assistance-program

Frequently asked questions

No FAQs yet.

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