12 2 STA T . 11 74PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 2 3 4 —M A Y 22 , 200 8‘ ‘ (B)conti n u in g t e c h nic al an df inancial a s sistance r elated to the successful o p eration of rural m icroenter - prises . ‘‘( 3 ) LOANS . — ‘‘( A ) I N GE NE R A L .— T he S ecretar y shall ma k e loans to microenterprise de v elopment organi z ations for the purpose of providing fi x ed interest rate microloans to microentre- preneurs for startup and gro w ing rural microenterprises. ‘‘(B) LOAN T ER M S.—A loan made b y the Secretary to a microenterprise development organization under this paragraph shall— ‘‘(i) be for a term not to exceed 20 years
and ‘‘(ii) bear an annual interest rate of at least 1 percent. ‘‘( C ) LOAN LOSS RESER V E FU N D .—The Secretary shall re q uire each microenterprise development organization that receives a loan under this paragraph to— ‘‘(i) establish a loan loss reserve fund; and ‘‘(ii) maintain the reserve fund in an amount equal to at least 5 percent of the outstanding balance of such loans owed by the microenterprise development organization , until all obligations owed to the Secretary under this paragraph are repaid. ‘‘( D ) DEFERRAL OF I NTEREST AND P RIN C IPAL.—The Sec- retary may permit the deferral of payments on principal and interest due on a loan to a microenterprise develop- ment organization made under this paragraph for a 2- year period beginning on the date the loan is made. ‘‘( 4 ) G RANTS.— ‘‘(A) GRANTS TO SUPPORT RURAL MICROENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT.— ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall make grants to microenterprise development organizations to— ‘‘(I) provide training, operational support, busi- ness planning, and market development assist- ance, and other related services to rural micro- entrepreneurs; and ‘‘(II) carry out such other pro j ects and activi- ties as the Secretary determines appropriate to further the purposes of the program. ‘‘(ii) SELECTION.—In making grants under clause (i), the Secretary shall— ‘‘(I) place an emphasis on microenterprise development organizations that serve microentre- preneurs that are located in rural areas that have suffered significant outward migration, as deter- mined by the Secretary; and ‘‘(II) ensure, to the maximum extent prac- ticable, that grant recipients include microenter- prise development organizations— ‘‘(aa) of varying sizes; and ‘‘(bb) that serve racially and ethnically diverse populations. ‘‘(B) GRANTS TO ASSIST MICROENTREPRENEURS.—
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