WASHINGTON – Today, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for America’s 33 million small businesses and startups in President Biden’s Cabinet, announced the establishment of two new federal advisory committees, the Invention, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee (IIEAC) and the Investment Capital Advisory Committee (ICAC), to accelerate support for startups driving critical innovation across the U.S. and increase small businesses’ access to patient capital.
“The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that innovation and entrepreneurship are big driving forces of America’s historic economic boom and will play key roles in our nation’s transition to stable and steady economic growth and prosperity,” said Administrator Guzman. “These new advisory committees will help us gain valuable insights into not only how the SBA can improve programs and policies to strengthen the innovation ecosystem across the nation, but also how the agency can better serve our customers while accelerating the flow of patient private and public capital to innovative startups and small businesses."
The advisory committees will consist of members with a diverse set of perspectives, experiences, and occupational backgrounds to provide advice and recommendations to the SBA on policy and programs. The IIEAC will focus on innovation commercialization, lab-to-market translation, and constructing a more equitable, inclusive federal innovation ecosystem. The ICAC will be geared toward developing a more inclusive investment ecosystem for small businesses and domestic private funds committing capital to small businesses with an emphasis on access to patient investment capital and affordable private long-term loans.
“One of the SBA’s top priorities is to provide American main street small businesses and innovative startups with access to critical patient capital and R&D funds to advance innovation and support the small businesses located across communities in every corner of our country. The foundation of our support for innovation is the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program which, for 40 years, has served as America’s Seed Fund, providing startups with the R&D funding necessary to pursue big ideas. Since 1958, the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program has worked with private equity and private credit funds to accelerate the flow of patient capital and long-term loans to small businesses old and new across industries and geographies. The new federal advisory committees will foster dialogue and identification of opportunities to accelerate and diversify SBA’s support for innovative startups and small businesses,” said Bailey DeVries, Associate Administrator, SBA Office of Investment and Innovation.
The SBA is seeking nominations from members of the public.
The requirements for nominations to the IIEAC include:
- Former or current small business owner;
- Community leader;
- Official from a small business trade association or academic institution;
- Member of the innovation community.
The requirements for nominations to the ICAC include:
- Former or current small business owner;
- Community leader;
- Official from a trade association or investment institution;
- Member of the investment community.
Nominees should send a letter of self-nomination or a letter of nomination from a peer, professional organization, society, or member of Congress. The letter should highlight accomplishments and experience working with small businesses in relevant subject matter areas relating to innovation and investment. Along with the Nominee Information Form and resume, nominees should include the following:
- Full name of nominee
- Occupation
- Physical address
- Telephone number
- Email address
For issues or questions with either FAC application, please email IIEAC@sba.gov (for concerns regarding IIEAC) or ICAC@sba.gov (for concerns regarding ICAC).
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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. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
About SBA Office of Investment and Innovation
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) leads programs that provide the high-growth small business community with access to two things: financial capital and R&D funds to develop commercially viable innovations. Our work is underpinned by public-private partnerships that help small businesses on their trajectory from idea to IPO. Learn more at www.sba.gov.