Chamber Amplified

A New Way to Help Local Businesses Grow: Buckeye Business Advantage

• Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce

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Access to capital is one of the biggest barriers facing Ohio’s small businesses, and the state has rolled out a brand-new tool to help. This week on Chamber Amplified from the Findlay-Hancock County Chamber of Commerce, Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague returns to break down the newly launched Buckeye Business Advantage, a program designed to reduce interest costs for eligible small businesses across the state.

In this conversation, we cover:

  • How the program works: A state-backed interest rate reduction of up to 3% for two years on loans up to $1 million
  • Who qualifies: Ohio-based, for-profit businesses with 150 or fewer employees
  • Why it matters: High interest rates continue to strain expansions, equipment purchases, and hiring
  • Why it was created: What the Treasurer’s Office learned from Ohio businesses, lenders, and the long-running AgLink program
  • How to get started: Why your first call is to your local bank, not the state
  • We also touch briefly on AgLink, the Ohio Home Buyer Plus program, and the Treasurer’s perspective on the affordability challenges facing businesses and families.

Whether you're a manufacturer looking to expand, a startup needing flexible capital, or a local business planning to grow in 2026, this program could reduce borrowing costs in a meaningful way.

For more info about the Buckeye Advantage Program, click here. 

Music and sound effects obtained from https://www.zapsplat.com

Doug Jenkins:

Hello everyone and welcome back to Chamber Amplified, brought to you by the Finlay Hancock County Chamber of Commerce. I'm your host, Doug Jenkins. If you've been around the business community for any amount of time, you know that one of the biggest hurdles for small businesses is not ideas or talent or even demand, it's access to capital. We've talked about it a lot on this podcast. We've talked about it through chamber programming. And beyond that, it is a big topic of demand. And in an interest rate environment like what we're seeing right now, that hurdle can feel even higher. So this week, we're taking a look at a brand new tool from the state of Ohio designed to help lower that barrier. Ohio Treasurer Robert Sprague joining us today to talk about the Buckeye Business Advantage program. It offers qualifying small businesses up to a 3% interest rate reduction on loans of up to a million dollars. Obviously, that will be some big savings, and it can make a big difference between delaying a project and finally getting it to move forward. So here's what we're getting into today. We'll talk about how the program works and who's eligible for it. Pretty basic stuff there. We'll also talk a little bit about the history of why it was created and what the state heard from businesses before launching it. So there was a feedback process before just launching this out of whole cloth. It makes a lot more sense to do it that way. We'll also talk about how your local bank fits into the process. You don't have to go to Columbus to get this process started. You can do it from the comfort of your own home with a conversation with your local banker. And we'll also talk about what it can mean for the next generation of entrepreneurs here in Hancock County. We even check in on the Aglig program and some of the treasurer's other affordability initiatives. So if you're a small business owner, a lender, or just someone with an idea that needs some capital to move it from I'll get around to it to let's do this, well, this is a conversation you'll want to tune into. With that said, let's get into it. Joined once again on Chamber Amplified by the treasurer of the great state of Ohio, Robert Sprague. Robert, thanks for joining us again. Oh, I'm glad to be with you, Doug. So last time we had you here, we were talking about a new program from the state to help home buyers. Uh today we're focused more on a program that can help businesses uh with access to capital, that being the Buckeye Business Advantage. So I think the first thing to do is get people familiar with what the program is.

SPEAKER_01:

Right. Well, I think, you know, Buckeye Business Advantage, we just launched it several weeks ago. So it's brand new. Uh and our thought on this was, you know, we have we have a$25 billion balance sheet and we help farmers through a link deposit program called Ag Link. And what we do is we reduce the interest rate they have on a planting loan. And we thought to ourselves, you know, we want to make sure that as production comes back to the United States, it gets located in Ohio. We're a great state and we want to use our balance sheet. And we also recognize the fact that, quite frankly, the interest rate environment is too high. And it really makes this affordability issue front and center for small businesses. In many cases, the small businesses that I've talked to, whether they're in Finlay or down in Lima, we were just down there for their Chamber of Commerce meeting, or across our great state, in many cases they would like to expand, particularly those that are in the manufacturing sector, but they can't always afford the machines. They can't find the money to be able to expand the product line or build the addition onto the business. And so we thought to ourselves, well, maybe there's a way that we could help small businesses in the same way that we help our agricultural community. So our Buckeye Business Advantage is uh very similar to our ag link program. And what we're doing is we're allowing small businesses in the state of Ohio to take out a loan from their local financial institution. And behind the scenes, we will help reduce the interest rate on that loan by up to 3% for two years on up to$1 million. And so that's the program in a nutshell.

Doug Jenkins:

So that sounds great. And I imagine people listening to this is like, that's awesome. How do I sign up? Before we get to that part, who is eligible for this program?

SPEAKER_01:

So you have to be domiciled. Over 51% of your production or your employees also have to be in the state of Ohio, and you have to have fewer than 150 employees in the state. So it's for small businesses, that's the target. And in October, we really focused on manufacturing because October was manufacturing month. But it applies to businesses across the board. We want to put our balance sheet to work for small businesses because we know that those small businesses become medium-sized businesses, and then the big businesses uh eventually evolve from the medium-sized businesses. So we want to make sure that we're doing everything we can to promote our small businesses, and that's the target of the program.

Doug Jenkins:

And not only that, but when we have strong when we have strong small businesses, they invest back in the community as well. So it feels like while its intended purpose may not be to strengthen communities, one of the ripple effects of the program is that it's going to do that.

SPEAKER_01:

I think it is. And you know, we've got Jobs Ohio where we give big incentives to companies that come to Ohio from outside of our state. And we very rarely, in some cases, have state programs that help companies uh that have been here for generations and have done the right thing. They're the sponsor of the softball program, um, or they're helping people in their community. And so this is our chance to do something for those businesses that are already here. Um, you know, they pay taxes for years and years and years into the state of Ohio, and it's a way for us to be able to have a program that fits their needs and helps them expand. Because you're right, um, you know, the small businesses are the ones that are part of the fabric of our communities.

Doug Jenkins:

Uh so the nice thing about this is it also helps link businesses with a trusted financial advisor through area banks. And I think that just kind of gives it uh another uh part of credibility. If I go to an air a bank and somebody that I already work with, I'm probably gonna trust their judgment on this program. They're gonna, I know that they're gonna help me through that. How do banks get linked up with this program so that they can begin to advise their clients to use it?

SPEAKER_01:

It's really a key part of our program. You don't come to the treasurer's office, we're not making the loan. You're getting the loan through the financial institution that you normally use. So go to your local lender, have a conversation with them. They will underwrite the loan. And then what we do is we have a conversation with that financial institution and get them signed up for our program so that they can pass that interest rate savings along to you. So everything goes through just like a normal loan and it's flexible capital, I should mention too, Doug. So this could be for you to expand a product line, it could be for working capital, you want to hire more employees. Um, all we ask is that you're expanding your balance sheet in the state of Ohio. There are no uh job requirements on the back end because we realize if you're making the investment and you're a small business, typically, again, you're investing into the community and you're gonna hire people. And so we know that that's gonna be the case downstream. Uh, so there's not a lot of onerous paperwork. You just go to your local financial institution. They work with the treasurer's office behind the scenes, and uh we'll we'll do the financial magic with the financial institution. But uh this it's pretty seamless for small businesses.

Doug Jenkins:

So this is brand new, hot off the press. There's probably uh not a lot of examples of it, uh people taking advantage of it just yet. But programs like this aren't born in a vacuum. I imagine there's a lot of conversations with businesses, lending institutions before rolling something out like this. What were uh what were the big selling points when you first started talking to uh employers throughout Ohio about a possibility of doing something like this?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I think first of all, the the the thing is that people wanted to have uh enough capacity, you know, they wanted to be able to do something up to a million dollars. That's the first piece. The second piece is, you know, we talked to small businesses and also the lenders. Um, you know, are there going to be a bunch of clawbacks? Are there is there going to be a bunch of onerous paperwork? What happens um from a uh uh bureaucracy standpoint? How how difficult is it to submit and be part of the program? So we wanted to streamline all that and we wanted to make uh the interest rate reduction enough that it was meaningful. And uh right now we're well over 2%. I can't remember the exact amount of the deduction, but it depends on the interest rate environment. And as you know, interest rates have come down just recently. So uh, but it's well over 2% the interest rate reduction, and that's meaningful to small businesses. Uh we had we had a uh manufacturer down in Dayton that I got to talk to his partner roundtable, and he said, Robert, he said we, you know, we're I think they were buying over 10 machines, C and C machines in this particular case. They were dramatically increasing his productivity, but he said, I'm paying 10 and a quarter percent for the line of credit to be able to buy these machines. He said, if you could reduce that to eight and a quarter percent or seven and a quarter percent, um, this may be the most significant program that uh you have in the state of Ohio for small businesses. So we wanted to make sure the interest rate reduction was something that was meaningful and that people were excited about.

Doug Jenkins:

Yeah, and scale that 2% savings is huge for our local businesses. So that's uh it's awesome to see that already getting good feedback on that. You mentioned the ag link program earlier. Just want to do a quick check-in on that program while we have you here. Uh remind people again what ag link is and how it helps our area farmers.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, if you're an agribusiness in the state of Ohio, you can apply for uh one of these loans and one of the link deposit pieces. Um, I'll tell you the ag link program has been tremendously successful. And we've dramatically increased the caps, and the agricultural community has responded in kind. They really appreciate this. One of the things that we were doing previously is we just had the window open in February. We've now opened it, Doug, to the entire year, so you can get a loan at any time. Um, in every quarter of the year, you can apply for one of these link deposit loans. And uh the interest rate savings is very similar to what we just described. And the agricultural community really uses this product a lot. As a matter of fact, we set records uh last year with the number of um loans that we made and also the savings for our farm community. And quite frankly, it couldn't have come along at a better time.

Doug Jenkins:

It definitely was uh the year to have that in place, that's for sure. As you go around, you talk to area farmers, you talk to area businesses and things like that. Uh obviously the Aglink program uh and now the Buckeye Business Advantage are programs designed to help those people where it's it's gonna help them the most. But what are the biggest concerns that you hear that you also want to try and address through anything that you can do through the auditor's office or through the treasurer's office?

SPEAKER_01:

Um, you know, I think that the the biggest thing right now is just this interest rate environment. It's about affordability. And that's something that we're trying to work on in the treasurer's office because part of affordability of the interest rates, and um, you know, one of the one of the key things that the interest rates do is it makes it hard to afford a home in the state of Ohio. That's why last year we used our balance sheet to come out with our new Ohio Home Buyer Plus program, that I think is the first program of its kind in the United States that actually uses this link deposit model to add to a savings rate uh instead of taking away from a loan interest rate. And people in the state of Ohio, if they open up one of these programs to save for a house, they can put up to$100,000 in one of our savings accounts through our Ohio Home Buyer Plus program, and they can earn uh up to an additional 3% on that money. I was uh telling a group of uh young people earlier, and they were asking about this program, and I said, look, I said, you can't find a better investment in the state of Ohio because your hundred thousand dollars is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. So it's risk-free, insured by the federal government, and uh you're getting uh, you know, in this case, probably a two point uh two point one percent increase in the interest rate. So that sends you over uh six percent that you're typically getting from the financial institution that you've put your money at. And quite frankly, there's no risk-free investment in the United States of America that you can find at six percent. So it is the best investment in the United States of America that you can make in any financial product, particularly it's an investment in yourself and you being able to help your family uh and be able to buy that house in Ohio and call Ohio Home. So we're really proud of that program too, our Ohio Home Buyer Plus program.

Doug Jenkins:

And of course, you can find out more information about any of these programs just going by going to the treasurer's website. Uh, we really appreciate your time talking about all of this today. Uh, I just want to go back to the Buckeye Business Advantage uh real quick, just to as we close out. Uh, again, getting businesses interested in the program, getting them started, and we're rolling it out right now. Where uh are people gonna see more about this in the in the coming weeks to just kind of keep it top of mind?

SPEAKER_01:

Well, I think first of all, uh at the local chambers, go to your local chamber and uh right, you've got the information, Doug. I know Pat's been by, has has given some information, but if you want to go look online, you can go to www.ohiotreasurer.gov and uh you can look at our splash page and look at the Buckeye Business Advantage information on our splash page. Um and go to your local financial institution and ask them about it, how you qualify for the up to 3% deduction on a new loan, and they can get in touch with us. So I think there's three different ways you can go about finding information, however, you feel the most comfort comfortable.

Doug Jenkins:

I think this is perfect timing. Uh and uh you mentioned Patty was already he was at one of our ribbon cuttings uh we had uh a week or so ago. One of the things I think we've been noticing locally is there's uh uh a new class, a younger generation of entrepreneurs, maybe in Finlay and Hancock County is the best way to describe it. And perhaps the thing that's the barrier between seeing even more of those entrepreneurs come on board is that access to capital. And this provides a bridge for that. Uh, and I look forward to what that means for Finley and Hancock County, both in terms of manufacturing and whatever else our local entrepreneurs can can come up with. Because it seems like we have a lot of people with a lot of great ideas around here, and this is just another uh uh arrow in the quiver for them.

SPEAKER_01:

Yeah, and we need that, Doug, right? Because I mean a lot of our industries are on the mature end of the growth curve, and we need new people. Uh, we need young people and young families as well and children. So all of that is good, and and if we can foster that by lowering the interest rate for some of these um young entrepreneurs, we certainly want to be able to help with that and participate.

Doug Jenkins:

Well, Robert, again, we appreciate your time on the podcast today. We'll have more information about this in the show notes for the podcast. Thanks for stopping by again.

SPEAKER_01:

Hey, I really appreciate you helping us get the word out uh for the community so that we can help serve the community and help serve these small businesses. Thank you so much, Doug.

Doug Jenkins:

And that'll wrap up another episode of Chamber Amplified. A few takeaways as you think about how the Buckeye Business Advantage might fit your business plans. First and foremost, the program designed specifically for smaller businesses. Uh, those have to have 150 or fewer employees, and it aims to make borrowing more affordable again. For a lot of entrepreneurs, that interest rate reduction can be the push that finally gets an expansion or an equipment purchase made possible. Second, you don't have to apply through Columbus. This might be the biggest advantage of the program. You don't have to deal with the bureaucracy. You just deal with your local bank, and they can help get things started. They underwrite the loan like normal, and then it's the treasurer's office who works behind the scenes to reduce the interest rate. And then third, programs like this. Ultimately, I think they help strengthen our business ecosystem right here in Hancock County. When small businesses have the opportunity to grow, then we see more jobs, more innovation, more community investment, and we're starting to see that new generation of investors in area businesses. We talked a little bit about that in the interview. That's something that we want to talk about more in 2026 as a Chamber of Commerce. So if you want to learn more, head over to ohioTreasurer.gov or talk to your financial institution about how the program works. We have links in the show notes for you as well. As always, Chamber Amplified brought to you thanks to the support of our chamber members. If you'd like to learn how an investment in the chamber can help your business and our community thrive, well, I'd love to have a conversation with you. Just reach out anytime at djenkins at finleyhancockchamber.com. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time on Chamber Amplified.

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Doug Jenkins

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