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

Where Florida’s business money actually comes from

Sort any “Florida small business grant” into one of these groups:

• Loans and investment you repay or share equity for. These are the SSBCI credit programs, the Florida Venture Capital Program and the Emergency Bridge Loan ⁠³⁠⁵.
• Training reimbursement. You pay for training first and CareerSource Florida reimburses its share. This covers Incumbent Worker Training and Quick Response Training ⁠⁶⁠⁷.
• Export cost sharing. SelectFlorida trade show grants and the subsidized Export Marketing Plan ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰.
• Local reimbursement grants. Small, district-by-district or city programs with short windows ⁠¹⁴⁠¹⁵.

Florida’s $488 million SSBCI goes through lenders and investors

Treasury approved Florida’s SSBCI application for $488 million in September 2022. FloridaCommerce runs the program with the Florida Opportunity Fund and Florida First Capital Finance Corporation ⁠¹. To qualify, a business must be based in Florida and have fewer than 500 employees. The money can pay for start-up costs, buying a business, franchise fees, equipment, inventory, and buying, building or renovating your place of business ⁠². You do not apply to FloridaCommerce. You borrow from a participating lender, and the lender uses SSBCI to make the loan less risky ⁠².

FloridaCommerce does not publish loan size limits, guarantee percentages or premium rates for its SSBCI programs on its business or lender pages ⁠²⁠³. The lender sets those terms. The participating-lender page lists Florida First Capital Finance Corporation (850-681-3323), Accion Opportunity Fund, Ascendus and NCRC Community Development Fund as statewide contacts. Its local banks include First Southern Bank (Martin County), Marine Bank & Trust (Indian River), United Bank, SmartBank, Community Bank and MidSouth Bank in the Panhandle. It also lists the Miami Bayside Foundation in Miami-Dade ⁠⁴. If your bank is not on the list, ask it to contact FloridaCommerce’s SSBCI office before you apply ⁠¹.

Hurricane Isaias bridge loans are open until November 25, 2026

FloridaCommerce activated the Florida Small Business Emergency Bridge Loan Program on October 11, 2026, with $10 million for businesses that suffered physical damage or lost income because of Hurricane Isaias ⁠⁵. Businesses in 30 counties can apply, including sole proprietors: Baker, Bay, Calhoun, Citrus, Columbia, Dixie, Escambia, Franklin, Gadsden, Gilchrist, Gulf, Hamilton, Hillsborough, Holmes, Jackson, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Okaloosa, Pasco, Pinellas, Santa Rosa, Suwannee, Taylor, Walton, Wakulla and Washington ⁠⁵.

Loans go up to $100,000, or up to $150,000 for agriculture and aquaculture businesses. They are short-term, zero-interest personal loans made with state money. FloridaCommerce states plainly that they are not grants and must be repaid ⁠⁵. Applications close November 25, 2026, or earlier if the money runs out. The help line is 833-832-4494, weekdays 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern ⁠⁵.

CareerSource Florida’s two training grants for FY 2026-27

Both grants pay back training costs after you spend the money, and neither pays trainee wages ⁠⁶⁠⁷.

Incumbent Worker Training (IWT) is funded by the federal WIOA program. It has $3 million for July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 and caps each grant at $100,000 per company ⁠⁶. The business must be for-profit, have operated at least one year according to Sunbiz, and have at least one full-time Florida-resident W-2 employee. Retail establishments are excluded. Trainees must work at least 37.5 hours a week and have been on your payroll for six months. Each FEIN can win one award every other year ⁠⁶.

Normally the business pays at least 50% of direct training costs. Priority applicants can be reimbursed up to 75%, including credential-earning training, companies with 25 or fewer employees, and businesses in rural or distressed inner-city areas ⁠⁶. Vendor instruction is reimbursed at up to $300 per instructor hour. Training by your own employees is reimbursed at $40 per hour. CPR, new-hire orientation, soft skills, degree courses and exam fees are not covered ⁠⁶.

Quick Response Training (QRT) is state-funded under s. 288.047, Florida Statutes, with $7.5 million for FY 2026-27 ⁠⁷. It is for new or expanding businesses that create new full-time jobs in qualified targeted industries and need customized, non-degree training lasting 24 months or less. Priority goes to first-time applicants, jobs in rural, distressed, opportunity zone, HUB or brownfield areas, and jobs paying at least 115% of the local or state private-sector average wage ⁠⁷. Your application needs letters from your local economic development organization and local workforce development board. Awards over $750,000 also require a fiscal agent, such as a college or school district ⁠⁷.

For either grant, apply online at least 45 business days before training starts. Training begun before CareerSource Florida signs the contract is not reimbursed ⁠⁶⁠⁷.

Export grants after the Florida SBDC ended its role in STEP

The Florida SBDC Network stopped administering the SBA’s State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) grant on October 1, 2026 ⁠¹¹. As of October 20, 2026, we found no announcement of a new Florida STEP administrator. Treat federal STEP as unavailable in Florida until one is named.

SelectFlorida’s own trade grants run under its Florida Export Diversification & Expansion program ⁠⁸. Minimum requirements:

• At least two years in business in Florida, according to Sunbiz.
• A commercial office, warehouse or plant. Coworking space counts, but home-based businesses and virtual offices do not.
• Three to 500 full-time employees.
• At least $250,000 in sales in the previous calendar year. SelectFlorida can make case-by-case exceptions to the employee and sales minimums ⁠⁸.

Target Sector Trade Show Grants reimburse part of your cost for overseas shows on SelectFlorida’s calendar. Award amounts are set per event and given out first come, first served. Veteran-owned and rural-county businesses can get a supplement, and you must send receipts within 30 days after the show ⁠⁹.

Export Marketing Plan. The plan costs $5,000. You pay $500 to the Florida SBDC Network and SelectFlorida pays the other $4,500 ⁠¹⁰. You can get one plan per lifetime and up to three trade grants per July-to-June year ⁠¹⁰.

SBIR/STTR help: free coaching, no state match paid to companies

Florida has no state program that pays companies a match on federal SBIR/STTR awards. The closest is the Florida High Tech Corridor. Its FL FAST program is funded by an SBA FAST grant and offers free SBIR/STTR proposal coaching, budget help and introductions to researchers at UCF, USF and UF to eligible Florida small businesses ⁠¹³. Companies in the Corridor’s 23-county region with an active SBIR/STTR award and a UCF or USF research partnership may qualify for the Matching Grants Research Program. It matches the company’s research spending dollar for dollar up to $150,000, but the money goes to the university team, not to the company ⁠¹³.

Local grants: Miami-Dade’s Mom and Pop rounds and Orlando’s fee match

Miami-Dade County Mom and Pop Small Business Grant Program. Each county commission district runs its own round through Neighbors And Neighbors Association (NANA). District 11’s 2026 round offered up to $5,000. Applications opened July 7 to 21, 2026, with an information workshop on July 14, and that round is now closed ⁠¹⁴. The grant is a reimbursement: you are repaid only for approved expenses, such as equipment, marketing, liability insurance, minor renovations, a work vehicle or commercial rent, incurred after the agreement is signed. Home-based businesses can apply, but national chains and nonprofits cannot ⁠¹⁴. Use the county’s “Who is My Commissioner?” tool to find your district.

City of Orlando Business Assistance Program. This matching grant is for new or expanding for-profit small businesses inside Orlando city limits. You pay 50% of impact fees, permit fees or required right-of-way work, and the city pays the other 50%, up to $20,000 ⁠¹⁵. Franchises, national chains, bars and home-based businesses are excluded. All approvals must be in place before final approval, and the city does not award grants retroactively, so talk to the city before you start the work ⁠¹⁵.

A Florida sequence: SBDC, lender, CareerSource, SelectFlorida

1. Book a free Florida SBDC consultation

   Submit the online request for consulting; it is free and confidential ⁠¹². Bring a business plan, financial statements or projections, and the amount you need.

2. If Hurricane Isaias hurt your business, apply for the bridge loan now

   Check that your county is one of the 30 listed and apply at FloridaJobs.org/DisasterRecovery/EBL before November 25, 2026. The program covers physical damage or lost income from Isaias, and its page lists the lending guidelines and documents required. Plan how an insurance claim, SBA loan or bank loan will repay it ⁠⁵.

3. For a loan, contact an SSBCI participating lender

   Call a lender on FloridaCommerce’s list, such as Florida First Capital Finance Corporation, and ask which SSBCI program fits your loan ⁠⁴. The lender decides on credit and enrolls the loan. For general questions, email [email protected] ⁠¹.

4. Apply for IWT or QRT 45 business days before training

   Create a CareerSource Florida account using an email address on your company’s domain. Upload a Florida Department of Revenue tax clearance letter dated within 90 days, your latest IRS Form 941, a W-9 and a bank letter confirming good standing ⁠⁶. Any amount you owe the state gets the application denied. Sign the DocuSign contract within 45 days or it is voided ⁠⁶.

5. Exporters: start with the Export Marketing Plan

   Apply through the Florida SBDC Network, pay the $500 share, then ask your SelectFlorida trade manager about trade show grants for events on the calendar ⁠¹⁰⁠⁹.

6. Watch for local rounds

   District 11’s 2026 application window lasted two weeks, so check your commissioner’s page regularly ⁠¹⁴. Inside Orlando, contact the Economic Development Department before you pull permits ⁠¹⁵.

7. If you are turned down, find out why and try again

   A lender’s SSBCI decision is a credit decision, so you can take the same request to another listed lender ⁠⁴. An IWT company that misses out can apply in a later year (each FEIN can win once every other year), and an incomplete CareerSource application goes back into the queue rather than being rejected outright ⁠⁶.

For other Florida assistance, see the Florida overview, or compare states on the small business grants hub.