WASHINGTON – On Tuesday, Oct. 31, in honor of National Veterans’ Small Business Week, Administrator Isabel Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s cabinet for America’s 33 million small businesses, hosted a roundtable in Washington, D.C., to spotlight Veteran business owners’ contributions to America’s economy and the SBA’s efforts to uplift Veteran-owned businesses across the United States.
Administrator Guzman joined representatives from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s Hiring Our Heroes Initiative and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Policy group in Washington, D.C., for a roundtable to discuss how President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is delivering for veteran and military spouse small business owners. Our country is experiencing a small business boom under the Biden-Harris Administration, with 14.1 million new small business applications since President Biden took office, and veteran entrepreneurship is thriving – there are currently nearly 2 million veteran-owned small businesses in the United States that employ approximately 5 million workers.
The roundtable also highlighted the SBA’s support for veteran entrepreneurs, including the expansion of veteran business outreach centers from 22 to 28. The SBA has made a number of key changes in the past year to expand access to capital for veteran- and military spouse-owned small businesses, including through implementing the SBA Veteran Business Certification program, which connects service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses with federal contracting opportunities through a more streamlined and user-friendly process. Other changes include overhauling its loan program to expand access to capital for veteran-owned small businesses and launching its new Military Spouse Pathway to Business training program to help military spouses looking to start their entrepreneurial journey.
For follow-up interview requests for Administrator Guzman, please contact Rebecca Galanti at rebecca.galanti@sba.gov.
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About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of business ownership. 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.