Ecosystem Tour 24-07: Washington D.C. Part 1: SBA

PodcastEcosystem TourEcosystem Leadership

Jul 2

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Washington DC has the center of our attention right now. When we visited our Capital, it became very apparent that there is a loyal and faithful group of dedicated citizens working daily to support job creation and entrepreneurship.

We sat down with Brittany Sickler, Director of Ecosystem Development / Office of Investment and Innovation for the U.S. Small Business Administration and discussed what new and innovative ways the SBA works to support startups and founders across the country. From micro loans as little as $1000 for a main street business all the way up to millions in federal funding, the SBA has a role in moving money to support founders.

“SBA is, is unique to some other federal agencies in that we have 68 district offices around the country. So, you know, one in every state or more. And we also have such a strong resource partner network.” Says Brittany.

There are more than 33 million small businesses in America, and the SBA can play a role in connecting those businesses to other networks and unlocking capital for startups that scale, and not just in the tech sector.

The SBA might just be one agency but they are connected to so many more. Brittany goes on to say “when you look at our startup ecosystem, we have so many different kinds of networks or kinds of organizations, institutions, and I see such passion from so many of our partners they're trying to put that together… And I think at SBA at least that's what I appreciate is across that spectrum. We either have programs or are trying to build resources to fit along any of those journeys.”

In addition to networks and partnerships there is real financial capital being put into communities to support economic development and job creation. “The SBA is guaranteeing that we have that flow of capital to those SBICs and we're increasing that program and the ceiling of what SBA is allowed to lend out to those investment companies has also increased.

We had over 40 billion dollars that were out in companies helping them financially stay alive and grow and we can track in the low and moderate income areas and the HUBZone areas and really see that. The capital there is flowing slowly and steadily.

So knowing that the SBA is here to work alongside Entrepreneur Support Organizations is refreshing during these turbulent times. New job creation is the backbone of our country and the freedom to choose how you want to make a living and what the SBA can do to help is priceless.