SMALL BUSINESS TRENDS
Globenewswire | June 02, 2023
Today, Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice for America’s 33 million small businesses in President Biden’s Cabinet, opened a window for new applications for Small Business Lending Company (SBLC) licenses for the first time in over 40 years. New applicants may apply between June 1, 2023, and July 31, 2023.
SBA approves Small Business Lending Company Licenses for selected non-depository lenders to increase responsible small business lending. An SBLC license allows the lending organization to utilize government guarantees when underwriting small business loans to reduce the level of risk to the lender and cost to the borrower. As a result, SBLCs are positioned to write higher volumes of loans to small businesses than possible without a government guarantee. There are currently 14 SBLC licenses in the marketplace today. An SBA rule finalized last month lifted the moratorium on additional licenses. SBA will issue up to three new licenses to qualified lenders based on a review of applications received during this application window.
“The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes that small businesses are the drivers of our economy and that to participate in the opportunities created by the President’s Investing in America agenda, they need capital,” said Administrator Guzman. “The expansion of SBA’s loan programs will help ensure more borrowers can get funded through a broader network of lenders so they can help build a strengthened American economy that innovates, manufactures, and provides the products and services that make our lives better.”
New Application Criteria and Considerations for Applicants SBA will evaluate new SBLC applicants on a range of criteria, which include: • The lending policies of the proposed SBLC and their alignment with SBA’s mission; • Historical performance measures, such as default, purchase, and loss rate; • Whether the applicant is subject to any legal proceedings, enforcement action, order or agreement with a regulator or the presence of other related concerns; • Additional performance data associated with the applicant or its senior managers, along with other relevant information (such as SBA-observed gaps in small business lending not served by the existing 7(a) Lender population, including small-dollar lending and loans to underserved populations); • Affiliation with lenders or lender service providers previously sanctioned by SBA; • Adequate capital, fidelity insurance, and other regulatory requirements.
This announcement builds on SBA’s modernization of its loan programs, to streamline credit criteria and cut red tape for all lenders, including the over 1,700 depository banks and credit unions that made SBA loans the last fiscal year.
The expansion of SBLC also complements SBA’s May 1 informational notice outlining steps for Community Advantage Pilot Program lenders to transition to a new, Community Advantage SBLC license.
Currently, over 100 non-depository lenders participate in SBA’s flagship 7(a) Loan Program under the Community Advantage Pilot Program but only have temporary status. These lenders have shown higher rates of lending to small, minority-owned, women-owned, and veteran-owned businesses. Providing permanent status to these lenders, which include many Certified Development Companies and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), promises to expand their impact in underserved markets.
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.
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MARKETING AND NETWORKING
PRnewswire | May 31, 2023
Interise, a national non-profit headquartered in Boston, has partnered with The Urban League of Springfield and Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts to offer NextStage Minority Business Entrepreneur Academy and NextStage Accelerator powered by Interise."We are excited to bring these programs to our small business community as they are the heart of each town and city in the region", said Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts Interim CEO & President Dr. Keith Motley.
"NextStage Minority Business Entrepreneur Academy and NextStage Accelerator will provide a welcomed boost to Springfield area minority-owned small business, and we are grateful for this partnership with Interise and Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts," added Urban League of Springfield Consultant/CEO & President Yvette M. Frisby.
The programs will use Interise's StreetWise MBA curriculum with an emphasis on procurement readiness and provide minority-owned small businesses with the knowledge, know-how and networks needed for business growth and expansion."These programs are yet another way to provide much-needed assistance to minority-owned small business owners located in key cities throughout the state of Massachusetts," said Interise CEO Darrell Byers. "We are honored to partner with Urban League of Springfield and Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts on this important initiative."
Nationwide approximately 10 to 18% of small businesses are BIPOC-owned, while less than 1.5% of BIPOC-owned small businesses are successful in securing contracts. Securing long-term contracts provides predictable revenue, a critical success factor for any small business.Historically, Interise companies become-contract ready through StreetWise'MBA' program. Companies that have completed these programs have achieved greater success procuring contracts with an average increase in revenue of 36% and a job creation rate 4x that of the private sector.
Byers added, "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to develop a more inclusive economy in Massachusetts by helping BIPOC-owned small businesses secure government and corporate contracts. The Federal Infrastructure Bill alone comprises a total spending of more than $3 trillion over the next five to ten years."
The program will be offered throughout the Commonwealth with a focus on Gateway Cities and is funded through a $3 million earmark from the Federal American Rescue Plan Act in a spending bill signed by former Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker.The first cohorts began in April in Holyoke, Worcester County and Merrimack Valley and subsequent cohorts will launch in Pittsfield, Fall River, New Bedford, Lynn, and Springfield in the next few weeks. The programs will also launch in Boston and Brockton later this year. NextStage Accelerator will be offered in both English and Spanish while NextStage Minority Business Entrepreneur Academy will be in English only.
About Interise
Interise builds diverse and inclusive local economies through small business development, supporting the growth of minority-owned small businesses and small businesses located in low- and moderate-income communities. Interise contributes to inclusive economic development through its national research on the growth of established small businesses and its award-winning business development programs. As Interise companies grow, they contribute to local job creation and build community wealth. Interise companies historically create new jobs at five times the rate of the private sector and are responsible for the creation of over 30,000 new jobs. Interise partners with government agencies, anchor institutions, and business associations to offer the StreetWise 'MBA'™ program in more than 80 cities nationwide. Strategic Growth Partners include the Kauffman Foundation, the TD Bank Foundation, the Wells Fargo Foundation and the Prudential Foundation.
About The Urban League of Springfield, Inc.
The Urban League of Springfield, Inc., serves the African American Community in Greater Springfield by advocating for and providing model services that enhance the academic and social development of young people and families, promoting economic self-sufficiency, and fostering racial inclusion and social justice.
About The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts
The Urban League of Eastern Massachusetts (ULEM) is a 501c3 nonprofit organization and one of the oldest affiliates within the National Urban League movement. Since 1919, the doors opened to the at-large Boston community and surrounding metropolitan area residents, ULEM has been employing a multi-point strategy to deliver services and programs which aim to increase self-reliance, specifically in the area of workforce and economic development.
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MANAGEMENT
PRnewswire | June 02, 2023
Deltek, the leading global provider of software and solutions for project-based businesses, announced today that ePATHUSA, a small business government contracting firm, has selected Deltek Costpoint to streamline processes, maximize efficiency, and remain compliant with security regulations.
ePATHUSA is a women-owned small business (WOSB) and a multiple GSA Schedule holder that has been recognized for its contributions to the industry with multiple awards, including the prestigious Woman-Owned Small Business Award and the Iowa Impact Award. With several offices and a growing team of 70 people across the U.S., ePATHUSA provides recruitment and staffing solutions along with software modernization and data analytics services to a wide range of federal, state, commercial and non-profit entities.
Leadership at ePATHUSA made the decision to make the switch to Deltek Costpoint ERP from QuickBooks®, due to Costpoint's capability to scale with the company and handle the DCAA compliance requirements necessary when working with federal contracts. ePATHUSA needed a more streamlined accounting solution with end-to-end processes – and Deltek, recognized as the trusted industry standard, was the clear choice as its partner.
Deltek Costpoint is the government contracting industry's leading solution that delivers more innovation and greater intelligence at every stage of the project lifecycle. It centralizes the management of projects, people and finances, and scales seamlessly as needs grow, enabling small to enterprise size businesses to win new contracts, manage project profitability and improve customer satisfaction at every stage. Additionally, the integrated cloud offering enables the secure storage of contract data and is consistently enhanced to meet the most up-to-date governmental and agency cybersecurity compliance standards including NIST 800-171.
"We vetted multiple solutions and found Deltek Costpoint to be the best accounting solution for us as we work to grow and scale our business," said Anitha Timiri G, President & CEO at ePATHUSA. "All of our colleagues in the industry are more familiar with Costpoint and trust the solution more than anything else on the market. It was apparent to us that Deltek was the partner we needed to set us up for success in the future. We're looking forward to implementing Deltek Costpoint to have an end-to-end, secure and compliant solution that is recognized as the gold standard among all the different organizations we work with."
"We're proud that Deltek Costpoint has been selected by ePATHUSA as the best solution to help it remain competitive, and compliant, as it scales," said Brian Daniell, Senior VP and Chief Customer Officer at Deltek. "We're looking forward to working with ePATHUSA to help them streamline operations as they continue growing their business."
About Deltek
Better software means better projects. Deltek is the leading global provider of enterprise software and information solutions for project-based businesses. More than 30,000 organizations and millions of users in over 80 countries around the world rely on Deltek for superior levels of project intelligence, management and collaboration. Our industry-focused expertise powers project success by helping firms achieve performance that maximizes productivity and revenue.
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