Governor Stein Launches New $55 Million Grant Program to Support Small Business Recovery in Western North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA, April 29 - Today Governor Josh Stein announced that local governments in western North Carolina can apply for grants from a new $55 million state infrastructure program designed to help small businesses in the region recover from Hurricane Helene. The Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program, offered by the North Carolina Department of Commerce and its Rural Economic Development Division, will fund individual grants to a local government up to $1 million to rebuild the public infrastructure that small businesses rely on to operate and thrive.

“Western North Carolina’s economy is dependent on its vibrant downtowns and small businesses, and helping them recover is critically important,” said Governor Stein. “This new grant program will reinvigorate the infrastructure that small businesses depend on, and I appreciate the General Assembly appropriating these funds.”

The Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program (SmBIZ) will utilize state funds appropriated by the North Carolina General Assembly in the recently passed Disaster Recovery Act of 2025 Part 1, which Governor Stein signed on March 19. The program will offer grants to local governments, and the related infrastructure projects will target and support small businesses that employ 150 or fewer employees. Funding will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.

Grants awarded under this program must be used by local governments to address qualifying infrastructure needs that the Department of Commerce, in consultation with applicant local governments and related small businesses, determines are the result of Hurricane Helene’s impact and have adversely affected access to, or operations of, the identified small businesses. The infrastructure cannot be owned by the small business, nor can it be such that the small business is responsible for maintaining it. Infrastructure may include but will not be limited to water, sewer, gas, telecommunications, high-speed broadband, electrical utility, sidewalk and curb infrastructure, and other repairs that remove barriers and restore or increase access to impacted small businesses.

“Successful recovery from disasters of Helene’s magnitude requires everyone to pull together and marshal support from many different sources, both state and federal,” said North Carolina Commerce Secretary Lee Lilley. “I’m grateful that the North Carolina General Assembly has quickly provided funds for this vital new infrastructure recovery program.”

An application portal and more information about the Small Business Infrastructure Grant Program can also be found online at commerce.nc.gov/SmBIZ.