CLEARWATER, Fla. — Small Business Administrator Jovita Carranza left Washington D.C. on Wednesday to visit a Clearwater company that was able to retain 26 employees thanks to a Paycheck Protection Program loan.

"The PPP loan allowed us to have that firm foundation," said Robert Guidry, Equitus Corp. CEO. "To retain the people that we had, that then has allowed the continued growth of our business."​

Equitus is a veteran-owned business that delivers cutting-edge big data analytics for both the government and commercial organizations. Guidry said because the PPP loan has created a firm foundation, they're able to grow their workforce during the pandemic.

"Which has resulted in the hiring of an additional 14 personnel," he said. "With a trajectory to add another 10 jobs or so between now and the end of the year." 

Administrator Carranza said the coronavirus aid relief passed back in March and has helped many small businesses across the country.

"You know SBA became a significant partner, public-private partnership, with about 5,500 lending entities throughout the United States," she said. "They provided almost a half a trillion dollars worth of funding."

Carranza said there's still $130 billion left in the PPP loan account.

"We still have substantial funds for small businesses," she said. "Of course, with the PPP we're just waiting for the negotiations to take place so that we can start rolling out those funds, again, through the lending community." ​

Equitus CFO Ed Bass said the company received a PPP loan for $306,000. In order to have that loan forgiven, the company must spend at least 60% of the money on payroll costs.

"We're in process right now working with First Home Bank," he said. "We're expecting 100 percent forgiveness."