WASHINGTON – On Friday, January 26, Administrator Isabel Casillas 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, attended an official meeting of the President's Advisory Commission on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics Initiative.
At the event, Administrator Guzman shared updates on the SBA’s efforts and progress in empowering Hispanic entrepreneurs across the nation and discussed how the country’s small business boom under the Biden-Harris Administration is being led by the Hispanic community. Since President Biden took office, a record 16 million new business applications have been filed, and the share of Latino households owning a business has increased by 40%.
The SBA has worked to foster this growth through expanding access to capital in the Hispanic community – under the Biden-Harris Administration, the number of SBA-backed loans to Latino-owned small businesses has doubled, with total loan dollars reaching a record $3 billion in FY23. Hispanic-owned small businesses have also seen an increase in federal contracting dollars under this Administration, having been awarded $10.6 billion in federal contracts in FY22 – a $330 million increase from the previous year.
This Commission was established to provide advice to the President through the U.S. Secretary of Education on matters about educational equity and economic opportunity for Hispanic communities. The Small Business Administration participates in this interagency working group as part of the initiative to uplift the agency’s efforts to bolster Hispanic entrepreneurship, such as increased access to capital, networks, government contracting, and education.
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, 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.