SBA 2024 Capital Impact Report

Fiscal year 2024 was a dynamic year for America’s small businesses. It featured a continuation of record-high new business starts, according to Census data. The post-pandemic surge in entrepreneurship, led by high-tech startups and businesses owned by women and people of color, is also evident in the rising number of new business establishments and continued hiring by small firms. In FY 2024, SBA supported 103,000 financings to small businesses, the highest level across SBA’s core programs since 2008, as well as 18,000 loans to households for disaster recovery; the agency also increased its annual capital impact to $56 billion, a 7% increase over FY 2023. The expansion of the portfolio was driven by dramatic growth in the 7(a) Loan Program’s smallest loans—those under $150,000—as well as by loans to female, Black, and Latino entrepreneurs. Complementing the lending growth was continued strength in SBA’s Surety Bond Guarantee Program and Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) Program, which, after a record year in new fund applications, is now poised for breakout growth in small business financings.