The Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology (SBICCT) Initiative recently approved the first group of Small Business Investment Company Licensees and Green Light Approved investment funds.
The goal of the initiative is to attract and scale private investment into technology areas critical to economic and national security.
Funds licensed under the initiative are eligible for $175 million in U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loans. In addition, the Department of Defense (DoD) provides program related initiatives to drive value in the implementation of the licensee’s respective investment strategies.
SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced the initiative in December 2022.
“SBA and DoD entered into this historic initiative to ensure America maintains its global competitive edge,” Guzman said. “Today we are proud to recognize the early results of our agencies’ collaboration and partnership with the U.S. investment community to fill capital access gaps vital to our national and economic security.”
The first group plans to collectively invest more than $2.8 billion in more than 1,000 portfolio companies.
The SBA granted the first SBICCT Initiative license this summer. The agency has since licensed four funds and green light approved nine more. The funds plan to invest more than $4 billion in nearly 1,700 portfolio companies.