The Small Business Administration (SBA) has announced a new equity action plan offering support for every stage of the entrepreneurship journey.
The new Equity Action Plan is aimed at helping entrepreneurs of underserved communities, who can often experience barriers and difficulties in accessing resources to help them succeed in business.
The new SBA initiative provides products and services to assist all entrepreneurs in underserved communities in launching and running a small business.
Small Business Administration Announces New Equity Action Plan
In collaboration with the Executive Order (EO) 13985 (“Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government”), the Equity Action Plan reaffirms the SBA’s role in reducing barriers in small business ownership.
Among the key elements of the Equity Action Plan is improving access to capital and bridging the financial gaps through smart tools and resources.
The initiative is also aimed at improving access to disaster assistance and to help undeserved small businesses become better equipped when facing unanticipated situations.
Access to Business Counseling, Training and Services
The Action Plan also improved access to business counseling, training, and services within undeserved communities, through Women’s Business Centers, Veteran Business Outreach Centers, Field Operations Offices, and the American Rescue Plan’s Community Navigators Pilot Program.
Breaking Down Long-Standing Barriers
Speaking on April 14, in an address focused on the SBA making historic strides to address inequalities, lower barriers, and other systemic challenges facing underserved small business communities, SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, said: “The SBA’s Equity Action Plan reaffirms our agency-wide commitment to breaking down longstanding barriers to ensure underserved entrepreneurs can access the capital, networks, resources, and opportunity they need to realize their American dream of business ownership.
Alongside plans from over 90 other federal agencies, the SBA’s Equity Action Plan aims to level the playing field for all small businesses and startups, a priority of the Biden-Harris Administration, and empower them to compete in an increasingly global economy and navigate new opportunities presented by transformational legislation, such as President Biden’s Infrastructure and Investment Jobs Act (Bipartisan Infrastructure Law),” Guzman continued.
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