New Hampshire small business grants, loans and training funds (2026)

What each New Hampshire program actually pays

Most lists of “New Hampshire small business grants” mix four very different things. Sort them before you spend time on an application:

• Repayable loans with state help. The BFA’s SSBCI loan participations, its Capital Access Program (CAP) and gap loans through Regional Development Corporations (RDCs) ⁠¹⁠⁵⁠⁶. You repay all of it.
• A reimbursement grant for training. WorkInvestNH pays back half of approved training costs after you have paid the trainer ⁠⁸.
• A small export grant. STEP reimburses 80% of export marketing costs, up to $8,000 per award in the last round ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰.
• Equity and free help. BFA-backed venture funds buy a stake in young companies, while the NH SBDC and UNHInnovation’s FOSTER program advise at no charge ⁠⁷⁠¹¹⁠¹³.

BEA also points businesses to tax credits rather than grants: the Research and Development Tax Credit, the Economic Revitalization Zone credit and the Coos County Job Creation credit ⁠¹⁵. These lower business taxes you already owe. They do not pay cash up front.

How the BFA splits its $61.5 million in SSBCI money

New Hampshire signed its SSBCI allocation agreement on June 1, 2022. By December 31, 2025, Treasury had disbursed the full $61,468,436, and the state reported $56,185,519 deployed. That is 91.4% of the allocation, the third-highest share on Treasury’s jurisdiction table ⁠³.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

The Term program is the workhorse ⁠¹. On the BFA’s own terms, the participation runs from $100,000 to $5,000,000 on loans of up to $20,000,000. The BFA’s slice is subordinate to the bank’s, carries no interest in the first year and reduced interest in the second, and costs a one-time 1% fee on the BFA’s share ⁠⁴. Treasury puts the second-year rate at half the bank’s rate ⁠¹. Commercial real estate, equipment and working capital qualify. Passive real estate, business acquisitions and owner cash-outs do not, and start-ups are not eligible ⁠⁴. Your bank submits the request, and the BFA usually decides within 24 to 48 hours ⁠⁴.

The Direct Loans program is aimed at manufacturers, biotechnology and information technology companies and other value-added, high-growth firms whose expansion is held back by a collateral shortfall ⁠¹.

The Capital Access Program: the BFA tool that takes start-ups

CAP is a BFA credit enhancement that does not appear on Treasury’s SSBCI list, but it is the one most open to new firms ⁠²⁠⁵. It covers term loans and lines of credit for businesses with annual revenue under $5 million. A start-up qualifies if the owner puts at least 20% of total project cost into the deal as cash equity, and that equity cannot be borrowed ⁠⁵.

The cost is set at closing. The bank chooses a premium of between 3% and 4% of the loan balance, which it can charge to you. The BFA then adds 2.5 times that amount, and the combined sum sits in a loan-loss reserve at the bank. There are no annual fees ⁠⁵. The BFA’s page gives two limits: total CAP enrollment may not exceed $500,000, and its FAQ sets the maximum enrollment at $200,000 per borrower. Ask the bank which limit applies to your loan. Lines of credit must be paid to zero for 30 days once a year, and real estate must be owner-occupied ⁠⁵. Approval usually takes about 24 hours ⁠⁵.

Gap loans through the nine Regional Development Corporations

BEA counts nine Regional Development Corporations across the state ⁠¹⁵. They are nonprofits that borrow from the BFA, including SSBCI ALDO money, and relend it to fill a gap a bank will not cover ⁠¹⁠⁶. Loans typically run from $10,000 to $1,000,000 inside deals of $50,000 to $2,000,000. Rates are usually slightly higher than a conventional bank loan, and collateral is judged case by case ⁠⁶. The RDC’s board approves first, and the BFA gives final approval ⁠⁶. Start-ups are technically eligible but usually fail the underwriting standards ⁠⁶. Expect monthly or quarterly financial statements, annual tax returns and a personal financial statement from the guarantor ⁠⁶. The BFA will introduce you to the RDC for your region if you call 603.415.0190 ⁠⁶.

BEA also lists the Community Loan Fund of New Hampshire, which lends to small business owners, farms and food producers ⁠¹⁵. Its loans are repayable too.

WorkInvestNH: half of your training bill, paid back afterward

WorkInvestNH, run by New Hampshire Employment Security (NHES), is the closest the state comes to a cash grant for an ordinary small business ⁠⁸. Its application email still carries the old Job Training Fund name. It is open to employers located in New Hampshire, or planning to locate there, that pay quarterly unemployment insurance taxes to the state and comply with state law ⁠⁸. It covers 50% of training costs for current New Hampshire workers and for new hires brought on before the training starts ⁠⁸.

The order matters. You pay the trainer, show proof of payment, and NHES reimburses half. A contract approved by the Office of the Attorney General must be signed before training begins, and any award of $70,000 or more also needs the Governor and Executive Council ⁠⁸. Travel, lodging and meals are never covered. Eligible training includes classroom or on-site lab instruction, basic and technical skills, quality improvement, safety, management and supervision, and English as a Second Language ⁠⁸.

STEP, FOSTER and the end of NHIRC

STEP. The Office of International Commerce (OIC) uses SBA STEP money to reimburse 80% of export costs such as foreign trade shows, international marketing materials, market research and ISO certification ⁠⁹. The cap was $7,500 per STEP 11 award and $8,000 per STEP 12 award. STEP 12 activities had to be finished by September 29, 2026, so that round is over ⁠¹⁰. To qualify, a company must meet SBA size standards, have been in business for at least a year, be operating profitably, have an export plan, export goods or services with at least 51% U.S. content, and be in good standing with the NH Department of Revenue Administration and the IRS ⁠¹⁰. As of October 20, 2026, the OIC’s page does not announce a newer round ⁠⁹. Before you contact the OIC, compare your plan with its last results: in the period ending September 2024, more than 30 companies turned $250,000 of STEP money into just over $10 million in export sales ⁠⁹.

SBIR/STTR support. New Hampshire has no state SBIR matching grant. The NH Innovation Research Center, created by the Legislature in 1991 to co-fund company research with universities, lost its funding in 2021 and accepts no new applications ⁠¹⁴. What remains is FOSTER at UNHInnovation, an SBA-funded program that helps companies find federal SBIR/STTR topics and write proposals for free. FOSTER also runs a competitive microgrant for select companies that pays for direct proposal help, but it does not publish award amounts ⁠¹³.

Equity. The BFA’s Early Stage Capital partners are the Vox Health Fund, which invests in life sciences and digital health, and Millworks Fund II, which pairs the BFA with 40 angel investors to put about $600,000 a year into companies through the TechOut and AlphaLoft accelerators. The older Granite Fund is fully invested ⁠⁷. You apply to the fund, not the BFA, and you give up ownership in return ⁠⁷.

Financing a New Hampshire business, step by step

The NH SBDC, based at UNH’s Peter T. Paul College, gives confidential advising at no charge. In 2025 it served 3,265 entrepreneurs in more than 220 communities ⁠¹¹. Its LeAF program, paid for by SSBCI technical assistance money, adds up to five free hours with a lawyer, accountant or financial adviser for eligible clients ⁠¹¹.

1. Start with the SBDC

   Request advising at nhsbdc.org or call 603.862.2200. Bring a business plan, recent financial statements or projections, and the amount you need. Ask whether you qualify for LeAF before signing a lease or loan document ⁠¹¹.

2. Choose the BFA tool that fits your stage

   If you are a start-up, ask your bank about CAP and have 20% of project cost ready in cash ⁠⁵. If you are an established firm buying equipment or property, ask the bank to request a BFA loan participation ⁠⁴.

3. Fill a gap through your RDC

   If the bank will not lend the full amount, call the BFA at 603.415.0190 to be introduced to your region’s RDC. Expect its board to review the deal before the BFA does ⁠⁶.

4. Apply for WorkInvestNH at least 60 days before training

   Get a Certificate of Good Standing from the Secretary of State, proof of workers’ compensation coverage and vendor quotes. Email the complete package as one PDF to [email protected] or mail it to NHES, 45 South Fruit Street, Concord, NH 03301 ⁠⁸.

5. Answer NHES quickly

   If your application is incomplete, you get three business days to fix it. Once the Commissioner approves, NHES sends a contract. Do not start training until it is signed, then submit receipts for the 50% reimbursement ⁠⁸.

6. Line up the next STEP round

   Write a short export plan, confirm your NAICS size standard and your 51% U.S. content, and ask the OIC program manager when new STEP awards will open ⁠⁹⁠¹⁰.

7. Use FOSTER before a federal SBIR deadline

   Email [email protected] to check your eligibility and ask whether a proposal microgrant is available ⁠¹³.

8. If you are turned down, change tools or lenders

   A participation or CAP decision is the bank’s credit decision first, so another New Hampshire bank or your RDC may decide differently ⁠⁴⁠⁶. STEP and FOSTER microgrants are competitive, so ask how the application was judged and reapply.

For other help in the state, see the New Hampshire overview, or compare states on the small business grants hub.