I am so honored and thrilled to be a part of the 2021 Reservation Economic Summit! You all embody hope for our future, and a more equitable economy that drives forward our global competitiveness.
Thank you to the National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development’s President Chris James for inviting me to be here.
Chris was my colleague when I served at the SBA during the Obama administration, and he’s a tireless advocate for America’s entrepreneurs. He’s always been such an effective leader on all efforts to lift up American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs … so it’s great to see him putting his formidable energy to work here with NCAIED.
I’d also like to thank Derrick Watchman, NCAIED’s board chair for his trail-blazing leadership. I’ve learned that Derrick got his start at the very first RES in 1986. And today, he continues to build on his remarkable career as a leader in Tribal economic development efforts for the Navajo Nation and all of Indian Country.
And I am more hopeful knowing that here with us today are future leaders of American Indian enterprise who will follow in Derrick’s impressive path.
It was more than a year ago when we were all together for RES 2020. Back then, I was the director of the Office of Small Business Advocate for the state of California. The first outbreaks of COVID-19 were just being reported. We had no idea that masks and social distancing were within days of becoming integral parts of our lives.
And today, here we are on a path to recovery, reimagining our future economy so we can effectively put an end to COVID-19 and build back better from this once-in-a-generation pandemic. After 17 plus months of limits on social gathering, it’s amazing to be here together in person.
I’ve been traveling across the country in recent weeks, talking with small business owners to find out what they need from the SBA to help them get to the other side of this economic crisis.
I’ve heard optimism – Main Streets, business centers and communities are opening back up thanks to the American Rescue Plan’s successes fighting COVID and getting shots in arms … with Native Americans leading the way.
I want to thank the incredible healthcare workers and community outreach volunteers in Indian Country who have worked so hard to make that happen. They refused to back down to a virus that ravaged Tribal communities. They are true heroes and have paved the path we stand on now – with hope for economic recovery.
We ARE putting this virus in retreat. But we also have a long way to go. And I know that across Tribal nations, small businesses are still in dire need of relief.
Underserved entrepreneurs across America -- the smallest of the small in urban and rural and Tribal areas, businesses owned by women and people of color – struggled to access early rounds of federal relief to stay afloat during the pandemic. Through no fault of their own, they were left to pick up the pieces and pivot and adapt to a marketplace that changed in ways no one ever could have predicted.
Together with my team at the SBA, I’m committed to turning that around and breaking down historic barriers to capital and opportunity.
We continue to deliver billions of dollars in COVID relief – and we’re focused on getting that funding into the hands of the underserved small businesses - who need it the most.
I’m proud to say that in 2021, 96 percent of our PPP loans went to our smallest businesses - 20 employees or less - with strong performance in rural and LMI communities. And $18 billion of the $28.6 billion dollar Restaurant Revitalization Fund went to small businesses owned by women, veterans and socially or economically disadvantaged individuals – including more than 1,000 Native-owned businesses.
As the voice for America’s 30 million small businesses and innovative startups, I’m working to bridge the gaps to support ALL our nation’s small businesses and make them feel like the giants they ARE in our economy.
I’ve directed my staff to be as entrepreneurial as the entrepreneurs we serve and put our customers – America’s small businesses – first. We need to understand their needs and meet them where THEY are, instead of waiting for them to come to us.
And we need to be technology-forward – especially with the commitment in President Biden’s Build Back Better Agenda to deliver broadband to every household. We need to leverage the fact that small businesses adopted technology at high rates during the pandemic … streamline, automate for speed and efficiency.
For American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian entrepreneurs, that also means establishing a strong nation-to-nation relationship with every Tribe that seeks to engage with the federal government.
At the SBA, we’re committed to making Tribal consultation an important component of broader Tribal outreach and engagement, while creating opportunities for meaningful input. At the same time, we must anticipate the resource limitations and communication challenges that are endemic across Indian Country and work creatively to overcome those barriers – with all of your help and collaboration.
As President Biden said in his first week in office: “History demonstrates that we best serve Native American people when Tribal governments are empowered to lead their communities, and when Federal officials speak with and listen to Tribal leaders in formulating Federal policy that affects Tribal Nations.”
As part of that effort, President Biden asked Interior Secretary Deb Haaland and Domestic Policy Advisor Susan Rice to bring back the White House Council on Native American Affairs. I’m proud to serve on this important council and help lead efforts on the Economic Development, Energy and Infrastructure Committee.
We’re also bringing back our Council on Underserved Communities at the SBA to bring in diverse stakeholders from across the country – including Indian Country – to help us strengthen and improve our strategies to help underserved small businesses.
Supporting Native-owned small businesses is vital to our shared economic future. And that begins with addressing the systemic inequities that continue to plague Indigenous peoples.
I am committed to ensuring that all our programs and services help ALL our small businesses gain access to the capital, markets and networks they need to start and grow.
For small businesses, connection to and awareness of resources is critical. This is a priority for President Biden, who directed me to develop new ways to effectively raise awareness about the wide range of SBA resources that are available to help small businesses. This effort will counter the struggles so many underserved small businesses faced accessing critical relief during early in the pandemic.
To that end, we recently announced our Community Navigator Pilot program funding opportunity with $100 million dollars in grants through the American Rescue Plan to create a hub and spoke network of trusted organizations, local governments and Tribal entities who can leverage their relationships and direct access to underserved small businesses to help them navigate resources at all stages of their growth.
While access to capital is important, we’re also working to help our underserved small businesses reach new markets - the revenue side of the equation – and ultimately access opportunities to grow, hire and build wealth.
Through SBA’s contracting programs, we’re working to help the 100,000 Native-owned small businesses in the U.S. get ready to do business with the world’s largest customer, the federal government.
Right now, there are 4,000 Native entrepreneurs engaged in federal procurement – we aim to bring that number up by strengthening business development programs such as 8a and HubZone – all of Indian Country is HubZone certified.
We’re also expanding our 7j program funding in the President’s budget, which helps organizations such as NCAIED conduct their popular Native Edge trainings.
We want to see more Native entrepreneurs create the growth and success that Jordan Beard, a member of the Cherokee Nation, achieved with his company, All Electric Supply.
After All Electric was certified as an 8a company in August 2020, Jordan created a whole new division to support federal contracting. He went on to establish a mentor protégé relationship with a larger company that allowed him to branch out into the energy conservation measures market. This led to a joint venture and continued growth for his company.
While the pandemic took its toll on Jordan’s business, he relied on PPP loans to carry him through, and today, he’s ready to participate in the reimagining of our future economy.
As we pivot to recovery, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework and President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda both promise to bring unprecedented investments in infrastructure, innovation, R&D, manufacturing and supply chains, as well as workforce and the care economy.
With the Biden-Harris administration’s all-of-government effort to grow federal contracting with small, disadvantaged businesses by 50 percent, we know that we can help Native-owned small businesses tap into the opportunities that lie ahead.
Our Native entrepreneurs need to be part of building our country and economy back better. Our world is facing unprecedented challenges. The traditional knowledge of Indigenous cultures – combined with the ingenuity, grit and determination that continues to sustain Tribal communities – are invaluable tools to help us create the solutions we need today.
Together we can leverage this unprecedented moment and attention on small businesses to transform SBA to give every small business or startup the tools, they need to innovate, build, and adapt.
It is up to us in government to lead the way. We need to support the entrepreneurial spirit and all of the great ideas from everywhere and anywhere so that we can create equitable pathways to the American dream of business ownership.
Our shared future depends on it.
I look forward to working with all of you as we bring businesses back, create jobs, and build an equitable economy that works for all of us.