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

Maryland’s SSBCI money is split three ways

Treasury’s summary of Maryland’s plan lists eight SSBCI programs ⁠²:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Treasury still uses the old “Neighborhood Business Works” name. DHCD now runs that money as Small Business Companion Loans and Own Your Future loans ⁠³⁠⁵.

How DHCD’s 4% loans work

In 2026 DHCD’s Division of Business Development offers three loan products. All three carry a fixed 4% rate and terms of up to 30 years. Small businesses with fewer than 500 employees, local development corporations and nonprofits can borrow. Local governments cannot ⁠³.

• Small Business Companion Loans (repayable, SSBCI). You can request $250,000 to $5 million, and DHCD lends up to 50% of a project costing no more than $20 million ⁠⁵. You must line up at least one private dollar for every DHCD dollar. If you have no lender yet, DHCD offers to find one from its lending network. Owners with more than 20% equity must sign personal guarantees. The money can pay for property, equipment, working capital, tenant improvements or an employee stock ownership plan buyout ⁠⁵.
• Own Your Future loans (repayable, SSBCI). This version of the companion loan is for buying, building or renovating the property your business operates in, with the same $5 million cap and 4% rate ⁠³. Under Treasury rules you must occupy at least 51% of the space after a purchase or renovation, or 60% after new construction. Projects costing $500,000 or less are exempt from that rule ⁠⁵.
• Small Business Direct Loans (repayable, state funds). DHCD lends up to $2 million directly in competitive rounds. Preference goes to projects that rehabilitate vacant or blighted buildings, add housing, improve fresh food access or expand child care. The business must be in a Sustainable Community or Priority Funding Area. Unlike the SSBCI loans, direct loans can pay business start-up costs ⁠⁴. The last round opened August 17 and closed September 17, 2026. DHCD says rounds are announced quarterly, but no next date was posted on October 20, 2026 ⁠³⁠⁴.

DHCD will not lend to adult entertainment, gambling, gun, liquor, pawn, tattoo or cannabis businesses, among others ⁠⁵.

MSBDFA and TEDCO: credit and equity for harder cases

MSBDFA is a Commerce program for businesses that cannot get adequate financing on reasonable terms through normal channels, with a focus on socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs. Meridian Management Group, a private firm, manages it ⁠⁷. Of the state’s SSBCI money, $45 million went to MSBDFA ⁠⁷. Under its Equity Participation Investment Program, MSBDFA can take up to 50% of a lender’s loan package (capped at $2 million) for working capital, equipment, real estate or leasehold improvements. It can also invest up to $1 million in equity or convertible debt alongside angel or venture funds, as long as that is no more than 50% of the round ⁠². MSBDFA’s older tools, the Contract Financing, Long Term Guaranty and Surety Bonding programs, are still listed ⁠⁷. The page says online applications are unavailable, so you must call Meridian directly ⁠⁷.

TEDCO invests only in technology companies. Its SSBCI Seed Funds back companies founded within the last five years, headquartered in Maryland with at least half their workforce in the state, with no more than $15 million raised and 250 employees ⁠². The Venture Equity Fund typically puts in $500,000 to $1.5 million alongside private investors. The Social Impact Funds put in up to $500,000: the Builder Fund is for companies whose founders are at least 50% economically disadvantaged, and the Inclusion Fund for 30% or more ⁠². For the earliest stage, TEDCO’s Concept Capital makes zero-interest convertible notes of $25,000 to $50,000. It is open to Maryland tech companies under seven years old that are rural, in a disadvantaged community or led by a socially or economically disadvantaged founder ⁠⁸. Equity and convertible notes are not grants: you give up ownership or will owe conversion later.

The grants Maryland actually pays, and their deadlines

NourishMD (grant, open). DHCD’s FY2027 round has about $3.67 million: $2 million in state funds and $1.67 million from the federal Rural Health Transformation Program ⁠⁶. Grants of $25,000 to $150,000 go to grocery stores, corner stores, farm stands, farmers’ markets, co-ops and similar retailers. The retailer must serve an area with a Maryland Community Compass Fresh Food Gap Score of 65% or higher and give at least 20% of inventory or sales space to healthy food. The money can pay for refrigeration, build-outs, SNAP/EBT equipment and delivery vehicles. The Tier 1 eligibility portal closes November 2, 2026 at 5:00 p.m., Tier 2 full applications close February 4, 2027, and awards are expected in April 2027 ⁠⁶.

Maryland Manufacturing 4.0 (matching grant, closed). Commerce pays $25,000 to $500,000 for machinery, software and training that bring Industry 4.0 technology into a plant. Replacing existing equipment does not count ⁠¹⁰. To apply you must be a Maryland manufacturer (NAICS 31-33) with 3 to 250 full-time employees, in business for at least two years, and you must complete a CESMII technology assessment through Maryland MEP. Firms with 3 to 50 employees pay 25% of project costs. Firms with 51 to 250 pay 50%. Half the grant is paid at award and half when the project is finished ⁠¹⁰. The 2026 window ran August 3 to 31, 2026, and the next is expected August 2, 2027 ⁠¹⁰.

ExportMD (reimbursement grant, open monthly). ExportMD pays back up to $5,000 you have already spent on international marketing, such as trade show fees, travel or a foreign-market website ⁠¹³. You must have been in business for at least one year, meet the SBA’s small business size standard, be in good standing with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation, and not have received an ExportMD award in the past year. Your project must start and end within six months of the deadline. The program is partly funded through the SBA’s State Trade Expansion Program (STEP). Commerce lists a STEP budget of $733,333, of which $550,000 is federal ⁠¹³.

Regional example: Baltimore City (matching grant). The Baltimore Development Corporation’s Commercial Tenant Improvement Grant matches up to $70,000 for tenants and $80,000 for owners who build out commercial space in eligible corridors. Projects must cost at least $30,000 and create two permanent jobs within a year. Deadlines are quarterly, and the next is December 31, 2026 ⁠¹⁵. Do not start work before approval, because BDC pays only by reimbursement.

Training grants: PWQ is open, Maryland Business Works is not

Partnership for Workforce Quality (grant, rolling). Commerce reimburses up to 50% of the direct costs of training current workers, including curriculum, materials and instructor fees. Grants range from $5,000 to $200,000 per employer per year ⁠¹¹. Employers should have at least 10 full-time employees. Manufacturing and technology firms get priority, and at least 60% of funds go to employers with 150 or fewer workers in Maryland. There is no online portal: you apply through the Commerce regional representative for your county, and you are paid back only after the training is delivered ⁠¹¹.

Maryland Business Works (grant, closed this fiscal year). The Department of Labor’s incumbent-worker training grant is not taking new applications this fiscal year because all budgeted funds are committed. Labor says to watch its site for new funding, and its workforce division is at 410-767-2173 ⁠¹².

SBIR/STTR: TEDCO helps with proposals but pays no match

None of the Maryland programs in this guide matches a federal SBIR/STTR award. TEDCO’s SBIR/STTR Proposal Lab helps you write one instead. It runs workshops and reviews proposals for Maryland technology and life science companies that have never won an SBIR/STTR award. The spring cohort (DoD, DOE, NIH) applies by the end of December, and the fall cohort (DoD, NASA, NSF) by the end of August ⁠⁹. The Lab gives no cash. The award, if you win one, comes from the federal agency.

A Maryland application sequence

1. Start with the Maryland SBDC

   Request a consultant through the SBDC site. Consulting is free and most training is low or no cost ⁠¹⁴. MSBDFA also refers SSBCI applicants to the SBDC for free technical assistance ⁠⁷. Bring tax returns, financial statements or projections and your funding amount.

2. Book a DHCD consultation for any loan

   Fill out the initial consultation form on DHCD’s Business Lending page and ask whether your project fits a Companion, Own Your Future or Direct Loan ⁠³. Sign up for email updates so you hear about the next Direct Loan round ⁠⁴.

3. Line up the private match

   For a Companion or Own Your Future loan, get a term sheet from your bank or CDFI for at least the amount you ask DHCD to lend, or ask DHCD to suggest a lender ⁠⁵.

4. Call Meridian if banks have turned you down

   Contact Meridian Management Group (410-333-4270) about MSBDFA’s Equity Participation and guaranty programs, and have your bank’s decline and your ownership details ready ⁠⁷.

5. Tech founders apply to TEDCO

   Check the age, headquarters and workforce rules above, then apply on TEDCO’s site for Concept Capital or an SSBCI equity fund ⁠²⁠⁸.

6. Meet the NourishMD deadline if you sell food

   Look up your Fresh Food Gap Score on Maryland Community Compass, then submit the Tier 1 eligibility application by November 2, 2026 ⁠⁶.

7. Ask your Commerce regional representative about PWQ before training starts

   Confirm funds are available, then submit the application with the representative’s help ⁠¹¹.

8. Exporters: call two weeks ahead

   Contact ExportMD at 667-263-9354, schedule the required export counseling meeting, and file by the 1st of the month ⁠¹³.

9. If you are declined, reapply

   Ask how your NourishMD or M4.0 application scored and apply in the next round ⁠⁶⁠¹⁰. If a bank declines the matching loan, ask DHCD to suggest another lender from its network ⁠⁵.

For other Maryland help, see the Maryland overview, or compare states on the small business grants hub.