WASHINGTON– Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) announced a new joint effort to establish the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technologies Initiative (SBICCT), designed to grow investment in critical technologies vital to U.S. national security. This new partnership will support the Biden-Harris Administration’s whole-of-government effort to bolster America’s leadership in global innovation and to strengthen our national security by incubating and scaling technologies.
Administrator Guzman joined Defense Secretary Austin at the Reagan National Defense Forum in Simi Valley, California, where they held a joint letter signing event, announcing this groundbreaking milestone in the longstanding partnership between SBA and DoD.
“SBA and DoD’s new historic initiative will help make sure America maintains its edge in technologies critical to national security,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman. “DoD’s newly established Office of Strategic Capital will leverage SBA’s expertise and successes aligning and scaling public and private capital through its Small Business Investment Company program to address funding gaps in the innovation ecosystem. We are proud to be deepening SBA’s longstanding partnership with DoD to drive forward America’s technological and defensive strength – and in turn America’s national security and prosperity.”
“Earlier this week, I announced the creation of the Department’s Office of Strategic Capital and I’m delighted that OSC’s first official activity will be a partnership with the Small Business Administration,” said Defense Secretary Austin. “This partnership will help secure funding for critical areas for national defense—and ensure that our warfighters get the capabilities they need, before they need them.”
Underpinning this partnership is a new regulation that the SBA has proposed, which expands the SBIC program and introduces a new financial instrument called the Accrual Debenture. This instrument is designed to align with the cash flow patterns of startups, and supports the long duration often required to incubate and scale technology investments. Many defense technologies require heavy research and development investment, and this instrument is designed to attract the patient private capital necessary to support these innovations.
The partnership is made official through a letter of intent between SBA and DOD, which advances the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to growing our national security innovation base and establishing the U.S. as the world leader in innovative technologies.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration makes the American dream of business ownership a reality. As the only go-to resource and voice for small businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the resources and support they need to start, grow, or expand their businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations. Learn more at sba.gov.