This new grant program is available to businesses that have been open and operating for at least one year.
Hartford, Conn. — Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin announced Tuesday that the city will allocate $1 million in the Small Business Investment Fund to help small businesses grow.
It’s no secret that new businesses are making a home in downtown Hartford, especially in downtown Hartford. This new grant program is available to businesses that have been open and operating for at least one year.
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If you walk down Pratt Street, you’ll see signs of growth, with new businesses like Gentle Bull opening their doors.
Gabby Rodrigue, owner of Gentle Bull, said: “I love Hartford, so it’s really exciting to see it come back to life, especially after the pandemic, and I want to be a part of it.”
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Almost every storefront on Pratt Street is filled with new local businesses.
“It’s important that Hartford business owners and Hartford artists occupy space downtown and have the support of the community,” Liz Castle said.
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While new businesses are popping up in Hartford, officials are making sure long-standing businesses stay afloat with new funding.
“We’ve allocated some additional funds from the American Rescue Package grants for other types of small business investments. We want to make sure that businesses that have been here for a while are not working hard to grow and recover and create jobs in our communities. excluded from getting help,” Mayor Luke Bronin said.
The City of Hartford will award $1,000,000 to the Small Business Investment Fund to help established businesses continue to grow.
“It’s looking at how many jobs are you creating, how many are you keeping, what’s your capital investment plan, what’s your business plan like?”
The program isn’t just for businesses with storefronts.
“We don’t want to exclude businesses that don’t have storefronts but are still creating jobs and economic opportunity in our communities,” Bronin said.
The application is open to these businesses and can apply immediately. Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. For more information, please contact smallbiz@hartford.gov.
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