The U.S. Treasury Department will deploy $300 million of State Small Business Credit Initiative Technical Assistance Funding for small businesses for underserved entrepreneurs and very small businesses.
Of that funding, $100 million will be transferred to the Minority Business Development Agency at the Department of Commerce to focus technical assistance on helping underserved entrepreneurs seeking direct capital investment, according to an April 28 release. The other $200 million will provide technical assistance to qualifying underserved entrepreneurs and businesses with less than 10 employees.
“This historic investment in underserved communities will help mitigate some of the barriers that prevent underserved small businesses or very small business owners from getting their ideas off the ground, building successful businesses and creating jobs,” Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo said, according to the release.
Barriers like limited access to capital and the lack of technical support stand in the way of underserved entrepreneurs and very small business owners in pursuing their ideas, Adeyemo said, the release reported. The State Small Business Credit Initiative program provides technical assistance funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to help their businesses grow and thrive.
“Underserved entrepreneurs have traditionally lacked access to capital and often experience even greater disparities in access to venture capital financing,” Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves said, according to the release. “This significant funding being transferred to the MBDA will help ensure that more underserved businesses have the tools they need to succeed at home and abroad.”
The Minority Business Development Agency can provide technical assistance that enables these businesses to be successful with their State Small Business Credit Initiative capital program applications and other programs supporting small businesses, Graves said in the release. The transfer of funds reaffirms the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to supporting underserved businesses.
