On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced it had awarded more than a dozen small business initiative programs a total of $75 million in grants.
Part of the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Investing in American Small Business Opportunity Program (SBOP), the funding will connect underserved and very small business to the financing necessary to participate in investing In America supply chains, including electric vehicle manufacturing, semiconductor manufacturing, construction, transportation, clean energy generation and other sectors.
The SBOP was designed, the department said, to catalyze additional private sector investment by helping small businesses get the legal, accounting, and financial advisory services they need in order to secure federal financing or other state and federal program support.
“By increasing access to capital and making historic investments in infrastructure, clean energy, and manufacturing, we have spurred record-breaking small business growth over the last three years,” Vice President Kamala Harris said. “Since taking office, I have been proud to work to expand access to opportunity by investing in the small businesses that are the backbone of our communities. This funding from the Small Business Opportunity Program will build on this momentum by allowing tens of thousands of entrepreneurs from historically underserved communities to access the technical assistance they need in order to hire more employees, grow their businesses, and advance innovation.”
Among the grants were $7.9 million to the Arizona Commerce Authority to expand three existing state programs – the DreamBuilder, Moonshot, and Arizona Manufacturing Extension Partnership, targeting business owners in rural and mining communities; $2 million for the Cherokee Nation Commerce Services to connect underserved small business in the 14 Cherokee Nation counties in Oklahoma; and $5.3 million for the Louisiana Department of Economic Development to help regional economic development organizations connect businesses to capital.
“More than 19 million new small business applications have been filed during the Biden-Harris Administration and we’re working to support these entrepreneurs and connect them to the customers and capital they need to grow,” Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said. “The Biden-Harris Administration has fueled major investments in key sectors of our economy, and these resources will support technical assistance that connects small businesses around the country to important supply chains and new opportunities.