September 2007

SBA advances underserved market initiatives

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Administrator Steve Preston has plans to announce a set of new initiatives designed to spur economic development through small business growth in underserved markets.

These initiatives fall into four main tracks targeted to inner city and rural markets: improving entrepreneurial literacy in the inner city, enabling access to capital, supporting emerging companies, and enabling access to government contracts.

The first initiative is Rural Lender Advantage, which will help entrepreneurs in rural areas obtain access to capital by encouraging smaller community banks and credit unions to partner with SBA.

Another initiative will be an entrepreneurial literacy counseling and training pilot in Harlem, N.Y. Through a partnership with Operation HOPE, SBA and its resource partners will deliver technical assistance to entrepreneurs and small businesses needing additional support.

A third initiative will be announced at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City’s Economic Forum in Philadelphia Oct. 18.

Information on these programs can be found on SBA’s Web site, www.sba.gov.

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