The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has released its current Equity Action Plan. The Equity Action Plan is a statement of steps the SBA intends to take to full the goals of its Equity Initiative, which aims to reduce barriers faced by business-owners of underserved communities. The SBA is one of many federal agencies releasing Equity Action Plans, following the Biden administration issuing Executive Order (EO) 13985, "Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government".
The steps the SBA intends on taking to increase equity in its operations include: improving access to capital and fine-tooling its various loan programs and other financial assistance methods; provide additional guidance to businesses seeking to self-certify as a Small Disadvantaged business; improve access to its slate of low-interest disaster loans that can help small businesses weather adverse events; and beef up its offerings of counselling, training, workshops, and other educational resource opportunities for small businesses.
"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," said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman in a statement.
Read the SBA's press release at https://www.sba.gov/article/2022/apr/14/statement-sba-administrator-guzman-agencys-new-equity-action-plan.
Find the dedicated page for the SBA's Equity Initiative at https://www.sba.gov/about-sba/organization/sba-initiatives/sba-equity-initiative.
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