News Release
For Immediate Release via the Kansas Department of Commerce
Governor Laura Kelly Announces New Effort to Support Kansas Businesses in COVID-19 Recovery
TOPEKA Governor Laura Kelly today announced that funding provided to Kansas hospitality industry through the Hospitality Industry Relief Emergency (HIRE) Fund has been converted from bridge loans to grants.
Originally established as a working capital loan program through NetWork Kansas, these funds will no longer need to be paid back. Businesses that have made repayments will be reimbursed.
Theres nothing more important my administration can do than give Kansas businesses the long-term, continued support they need to not only recover from the pandemic but prosper now and into the future, Governor Kelly said. In communities of all sizes, hospitality businesses provide a source of shared space and shared identity. This action allows the loan dollars we delivered at the beginning of the pandemic to no longer need to be paid back, helping businesses maintain operations as we work to recover from the challenges brought about by COVID-19.
Read the entire announcement here.
For more information about NetWork Kansas, please visit: www.networkkansas.com or call call 877.521.8600.
About NetWork Kansas:
NetWork Kansas, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, is dedicated to making entrepreneurship a priority for economic and community development in the State of Kansas. NetWork Kansas connects aspiring entrepreneurs, emerging and established businesses, to a deep network of business-building and community development resource organizations across the state. NetWork Kansas is also the home of e2 Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (e2). e2 provides best practice solutions to entrepreneurial ecosystem building in Kansas and nationally.
NetWork Kansas facilitates the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem within participating communities through the E-Community Partnership. Contributing factors to successful development include availability of financial capital, support by local leadership and development of educational resources. All of these factors combine to increase entrepreneurial activity in participating towns, leading to increased startup activity, business expansion, job creation and more.
For more information about the Entrepreneurship (E-) Community Partnership, visit www.networkkansas.com/ecommunities, or call 877.521.8600.
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