MARQUETTE — Northern Initiatives has suspended accepting new submissions for a share of $2 million in small business loan funds after getting more than 700 inquiries on its website on the first day.

The Michigan Strategic Fund on Tuesday had awarded the $2 million loan fund from the Capital Access Program to be administered by Northern Initiatives, a Community Development Financial Institution based in Marquette that serves 77 Michigan counties.

The funds will be used for micro- and small business loans, with an emphasis on women- and minority-owned businesses. The loans will range from $5,000 to $250,000.

The program is aimed at businesses most impacted by the COVID-19 virus, such as restaurants, coffee houses, retail stores, and service providers. Loans can be used for working capital, acquiring machinery and equipment, and inventory.

“The need in Michigan is obviously great,” Northern Initiatives stated in a news release Wednesday. “The loan fund announcement resulted in more than 700 inquiries being sent through the Northern Initiatives website. This continued at an average of 50 leads per hour though the night.”

That prompted Northern Initiatives by morning to halt the process “until the organization has the chance to evaluate what has already been received.”

It added that Northern Initiatives already had a loan portfolio of more than 260 Michigan family-owned small businesses across many industries.

“We will work to the best we can in being responsive to the leads we have received over the last 15 hours,” Northern Initiatives stated. “We anticipate it will take up to two months to process these leads. We will do our best to provide ongoing status updates on the program.”