Arizona small business grants, loans and training funds (2026)

Sorting Arizona’s 2026 programs by what they pay out

Each program below is a different kind of money. Check which one you are dealing with before you apply:

• Credit support (you repay the loan). The Arizona Loan Guarantee Program and the Arizona Microbusiness Loan Program ⁠¹⁠⁸.
• Equity (investors take ownership). The Arizona Venture Co-Invest Program and the Arizona Multi-Fund Venture Program, both run by AZ Venture Capital Inc. (AVC) ⁠¹.
• Competitive grants with fixed windows. The Arizona Innovation Challenge ($100,000), the AZ FAST Grant (up to $3,000) and the Advanced Manufacturing Facilities Grant (a match for lab time at ASU) ⁠³⁠⁴⁠⁵.
• Reimbursement for training or exporting. ARIZONA@WORK training programs and AZSTEP ⁠⁶⁠¹¹.
• Free help. The Arizona SBDC Network ⁠¹³.

The Arizona Loan Guarantee Program: a 50% backstop for community lenders

Treasury’s August 2026 summary shows Arizona’s $111.0 million SSBCI allocation and the $24.0 million share for the Arizona Loan Guarantee Program (Arizona LGP) ⁠¹. The ACA does not lend. It guarantees up to 50% of the principal on a participating lender’s loan, and the lender makes the credit decision with its own underwriting and its own capital ⁠². Loans run from $10,000 up to $20,000,000. You can use the money for startup costs, working capital, equipment, inventory, and buying, building, renovating or improving a business location. Passive real estate investment is excluded ⁠¹⁠².

Borrowers must be an Arizona small business or an eligible nonprofit using the loan in Arizona. The program targets businesses with fewer than 500 employees and cannot serve any with 750 or more, counting a parent company and all locations ⁠². Treasury says the program focuses on rural areas and lower-income urban areas such as South Phoenix, South Tucson, Guadalupe and Maryvale ⁠¹.

Sources: ⁠¹⁠². In March 2026 the ACA page also named Lendistry ($50,000 to $5 million), but Lendistry is not on Treasury’s August 2026 list. Ask the lender to confirm it still enrolls loans.

Microbusiness loans of up to $50,000 through OEO’s lending partners

The Legislature created the Arizona Microbusiness Loan Program in Laws 2023, Chapter 136 (SB 1723), signed May 11, 2023 ⁠⁸. A microbusiness is one located in Arizona, independently owned and operated, with five or fewer people. Each loan is capped at $50,000. State money can make up no more than 25% of a loan’s principal unless the Office of Economic Opportunity (OEO) raises that cap by rule ⁠⁸. Lenders may charge fees of up to $500 on loans under $25,000 and up to 2% of principal on larger loans, and every borrower is referred to financial education ⁠⁸. Allowed uses are operations and jobs, working capital, real property, machinery and equipment, and refinancing debt ⁠⁸.

Governor Katie Hobbs launched the $5,000,000 program with OEO, which says it runs through 2029 and relends repayments ⁠⁹. You apply to the partner that serves your area ⁠⁹:

OEO’s launch release assigns no partner to Maricopa County. Phoenix-area owners should ask OEO which lender takes their application ⁠⁹.

Equity, not grants: AZ Venture Capital Inc.’s two SSBCI funds

The other $87.0 million of Arizona’s SSBCI money buys ownership stakes ⁠¹. The Arizona Venture Co-Invest Program ($37.0M) invests directly in early-stage technology startups, usually $250,000 to $1,000,000 per deal. Each investment must be matched by private money, and the startup needs a validated term sheet from an investor the program has certified ⁠¹. It targets semiconductors, life sciences, electric vehicles, software and clean tech ⁠¹. The Arizona Multi-Fund Venture Program ($50.0M) invests in up to 10 seed and Series A venture funds that target first checks of $250,000 to $5,000,000. Founders reach it through those funds, not by applying to the state ⁠¹.

The Arizona Innovation Challenge and the ACA’s small research grants

The Arizona Innovation Challenge (AIC) is the closest thing Arizona has to a cash grant for a young company. Up to 10 awardees per round receive $100,000 of non-dilutive funding after completing three months of milestones with an ACA-designated partner ⁠³. The Fall 2026 round was limited to software-as-a-service startups incorporated after August 2023, with a product in use and $5,000 to $50,000 in monthly recurring revenue. Applications ran September 14 to 28, 2026, and the ACA plans to announce awardees on November 4, 2026 ⁠³.

The AZ FAST Grant pays up to $3,000 each to six Arizona businesses per round to prepare federal SBIR proposals. The last posted round closed March 23, 2026 ⁠⁴. The ACA posts no state SBIR or STTR matching grant. The Advanced Manufacturing Facilities Grant matches semiconductor and hard-materials startups’ spending at ASU’s core facilities 1:1, up to $75,000 per company, first come, first served ⁠⁵.

Exporting with AZSTEP

The Arizona State Trade Expansion Program (AZSTEP) is the ACA’s SBA-funded export program. It helps businesses export for the first time or enter new markets. Covered activities include international trade shows, B2B and B2G meetings and trade missions, ExporTech export planning, U.S. Commercial Service services, and website translation ⁠⁶. The SBA’s STEP directory lists Arizona’s award at $275,000 for FY 2024, up from $150,000 for FY 2023 ⁠⁷. The ACA’s page does not publish a per-company cap, cost share or deadline. Call Kevin O’Shea, Senior Vice President of International Trade, at 602-845-1217 before committing to an event ⁠⁶.

Arizona’s job training grant ended; ARIZONA@WORK pays instead

Older lists still describe the ACA’s Arizona Job Training Program. Under A.R.S. 41-1544, the job training fund could not commit money after December 31, 2020, and leftover money reverted to the general fund on June 30, 2022 ⁠¹⁰. Employer training help now comes from the local workforce boards of ARIZONA@WORK. They offer On-the-Job Training, Incumbent Worker Training and Customized Training ⁠¹¹.

Federal WIOA rules set the cost split. For incumbent-worker training, the employer pays at least 10% of the cost with 50 or fewer employees, 25% with 51 to 100, and 50% above 100. Wages paid during training can count toward that share ⁠¹². For on-the-job training, a local board may raise the reimbursement to as much as 75% of the trainee’s wage ⁠¹². Arizona has local workforce areas for the City of Phoenix, Maricopa, Pima, Pinal, Yavapai, Yuma, Coconino, Santa Cruz, Mohave and La Paz, Northeastern and Southeastern Arizona, plus a Tribal workforce area ⁠¹¹.

Local grants also come and go. Phoenix and Valley Metro’s Small Business Financial Assistance Program paid up to $9,000 to businesses hurt by South Central light rail construction. Since 2021 it had paid out more than $1.58 million to over 270 businesses, and its last announced extension ran only through March 31, 2025 ⁠¹⁵.

Getting Arizona help in order: SBDC, lender, then grants

The Arizona SBDC Network is hosted by community college districts. It advises on business plans, financing, technology commercialization and government contracting ⁠¹⁴. Consulting is free and training is at cost ⁠¹³. The Arizona Western College center, for example, serves Yuma and La Paz counties in English and Spanish ⁠¹⁴.

1. Book a free SBDC session

   Find your center through America’s SBDC locator ⁠¹³. Bring your business plan, recent financial statements or projections, your employee count and the amount you need.

2. Match yourself to the right loan

   With five or fewer employees and a need of $50,000 or less, contact the OEO lending partner for your county ⁠⁹. For larger loans, contact a lender on the Arizona LGP list and ask whether it will enroll your loan in the guarantee ⁠¹. Questions go to [email protected] ⁠².

3. Expect normal underwriting

   The lender, not the state, approves or declines you ⁠². If you are declined, ask why and try another participating lender. A guarantee does not replace a credit decision.

4. Ask your workforce board before you hire or train

   Contact the ARIZONA@WORK local area for your county or city and ask which of its three employer programs fits, and what share of the cost you would pay at your size ⁠¹¹⁠¹².

5. Prepare for competitive rounds early

   Tech founders should read the AIC eligibility rules and watch the ACA’s FAST page for the next round ⁠³⁠⁴. Exporters should register with AZSTEP before booking trade-show space ⁠⁶.

6. Plan cash flow around reimbursement

   AIC money arrives only after the three-month milestones are met, and the WIOA employer share for incumbent-worker training can be paid partly through wages during training ⁠³⁠¹².

Compare Arizona with other states on the small business grants hub.