The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development announced Wednesday that it received $7.6 million in federal money to support small business growth, part of an effort the state said already has helped create and retain more than 1,500 jobs.
The state uses the money, allotted under the U.S. Treasury Department's State Small Business Credit Initiative, which was established in 2010, for business loans and investments.
The Maryland Venture Fund, which has been funded in part by the initiative, has made investments in 14 companies, which have leveraged that into more than $180 million in private funding, DBED said. The companies include Optoro, of Lanham, and Salsa Labs, which is moving from Virginia to Bethesda.
Loan guarantees have helped 22 companies, including M. Luis Construction, with operations in Baltimore and elsewhere in the state, and Marlin Steel of Baltimore.
The latest allotment is the second of three that will add up to $23 million.