A report from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation points out the difficulty many business owners have in accessing outside capital to start a business and the impact this has on the health of the business.

Just 16.5 percent of business owners said they received a business loan from a bank or other financial institution when starting up.

Tapping one’s personal or family savings was a much more common way to fund a new business, used by almost two-thirds (64.4 percent) of business owners.

By contrast, grants were the least common source of new business funding, used by just 0.2 percent of business owners.

Of business owners with employees, 90 percent to 95 percent said they needed financing to launch.

And getting the financing is essential to a business’s profitability.

Some 9.5 percent of business owners said not getting financing hurt their profits. The numbers were even higher for minority business owners.

The Division of Small Business recently launched a new program aimed at closing the capital gap for young Delaware small businesses.

The EDGE (Encouraging Development, Growth and Expansion) Grant program provides grants of up to $100,000 for science/research-based businesses and up to $50,000 for other businesses.

The competitive grants can be used for a wide range of purposes to improve the business’s chances of long-term success.

The deadline for applying for the first round of grants is June 14.

Click here for the application and program requirements.

Click here to read the Kauffman Foundation report, “Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs: Removing Barriers.”

The Division of Small Business wants to help you start or grow your business in Delaware.

Contact us to see how we can help you.