Akiptan General Loan

Akiptan is a Native American Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that provides loans and technical assistance to agriculture producers across Indian country.

Akiptan's general loan can be used for many different purposes to meet the different needs of producers. Activities like buying cattle, green houses, equipment, etc. are all eligible. Producers are able to borrow up to $500,000.

• Anyone over the age of 18 years can apply for the General Loan funds

• Any individual or entity engaged in agriculture and food systems, including but not limited to: growing, processing, distributing, or selling food or food products with a goal of improving the Indian use of Indian resources within the service area.

• All applicants must be actively involved in the day to day labor and management decisions of the operation unless they are temporarily uninvolved due to pursuing further education or other extenuating circumstances to be determined by the Loan Committee.

The General Loan allows for operators to borrow up to $500,000 in order to grow their operation. Anyone over the age of 18 years can apply for the General Loan funds which can be paid back over seven years, with a 5 year interest only period added if the producers chooses so.

The Interest Only Option was designed to provide an opportunity for initial capacity and development growth for up to five years due to the small, interest only payments. After the five years of investment time is completed, the loan is then switched over to a traditional loan with principal repayment starting.

Interested in applying for a loan? Begin by completing Akiptan's online intake survey. When completed a Loan Administrator will reach out to you with next steps.

The loan process begins with discovery and intake to get to know the client. Then you move into technical assistance and application completion, review and closing, then aftercare.

There is a digital copy of the application to the right which can be filled out and mailed to Akiptan's office at PO Box 858 Eagle Butte, SD 57625. Supplemental documents may be required before final loan review.

Please know that the timeline is currently a few months out from application submission to the Loan Committee for review. It is best to put in an application as soon as possible, but having a couple of months time is preferable. If your loan is approved, Akiptan can hold the money until you are ready to use it, which helps save on interest as well.

Loan products overview

Application materials

Akiptan Loan Process (PDF)

Frequently asked questions

Interest Only Option explained (blog)