Financing the tech industry in North Dakota

You have the knowledge. Your business is solid. The opportunities are clear. You are so close to taking your company to the next level – if only you had the money.  The first critical step in financing a company is establishing a relationship with your local financial institution to advise you on options.  For fast-growing technology companies, one option may an Accelerated Growth Loan through Bank of North Dakota (BND). BND is the state-owned bank – the only one in the country. This provides tech companies in our state a unique advantage. You have access to a program that isn’t available anywhere else.

The Accelerated Growth Loan program was developed to assist North Dakota-based technology companies with solid operations, good management and strong cash flows. BND recently expanded the program to provide financing to Software as a Service (SaaS) companies with minimum monthly recurring revenues of $50,000.  The maximum loan amount is $3 million or nine times the monthly recurring revenue, whichever is greater. SaaS companies must also meet a minimum net annual revenue retention rate of 85%.

The loan may be used to finance the acquisition of real property, remodel or expand an existing business if owner-occupied, purchase equipment, provide working capital or refinance an existing loan with a maximum amount that may not exceed 30% of the loan.

For companies that do not meet the monthly recurring revenue requirement, the original option of demonstrating a strong prospect for growth of at least 15% over a three-year period remains.  To learn more about how tech companies have utilized this program, watch this short video or visit the BND website. Since Bank of North Dakota does not make business loans directly to the business, you must work with your lender to access the funds.

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