Funding & Incentives

Available Incentive Programs

Maryland Department of Commerce and other partner organizations throughout the state offer Maryland companies a variety of incentive and funding programs. More information about available incentives, including an incentives map.

Find Programs for Small, Minority and Women-Owned Businesses

Maryland has a variety of programs for small, minority or women-owned businesses. Below is a sampling of the programs available:

• Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business – Video Lottery Terminal Fund: Targeted to help these business owners in the areas surrounding Maryland’s six casinos.
• Maryland Small Business Development Financing Authority (MSBDFA): Offers a variety of financing programs to promote the viability and expansion of economically and socially disadvantaged entrepreneur owned businesses.
• Minority Business Pre-Seed Fund (MBPF): Intended to address the needs of minority entrepreneurs in Maryland and administered by TEDCO. If you have a viable business opportunity involving a technology-based idea, this program will make investments up to $40,000 towards developing it into a product to be tested with potential users.
• The Neighborhood BusinessWorks loan program provides flexible financing to small businesses and nonprofits who are located in locally designated neighborhood revitalization areas throughout Maryland.
• The Microenterprise Loan Program creates new opportunities for small business development in Maryland by providing entrepreneurs with flexible funding for start-ups and expansions in designated Sustainable Communities and Priority Funding Areas throughout the State.

Find Programs for Veteran-Owned Businesses

Maryland has a number of programs available to assist both Veteran-owned businesses and businesses that hire veterans. These programs include:

• Hire our Veterans Tax Credit: This program provides a State income tax credit to small businesses who hire qualified veterans. The credit is based on wages paid to those veteran employees.
• Military Personnel and Veteran-Owned Small Business Loan Program: Small businesses that employ or are owned by military reservists, veterans, National Guard personnel are provided with no interest loans.
• Maryland State Procurement and Veteran-Owned Small Business: Each State agency in Maryland must structure procurement procedures with the goal of achieving an overall minimum of 1% of the agency’s total dollar value of procurement contracts to be indirectly or directly made up of veteran-owned small businesses.

Find Programs for Tech Development, Transfer or Acceleration

Maryland entrepreneurs can explore the following resources to develop, transfer, or accelerate technology-based products:

• TEDCO offers a variety of programs to companies in Maryland including seed funding for the startup of companies and entrepreneurial business assistance.
• The University of Maryland's Maryland Industrial Partnership promotes the development of technology products through grants.

Find Finance Incentives

The Maryland Finance Tracker tool can show you how business agency grants, equity investments, tax credits, and loan enhancements were distributed in Maryland in previous years. You can search or sort by program, company, amount, and location.

You can also get some key stats on Maryland Department of Commerce’s various finance programs and tax incentives in their Consolidated Incentives Performance Report FY2016.