On Friday, May 31, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, concluded Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month with visits to two AANHPI-owned small businesses in Washington, D.C. The visits aimed to highlight how the President’s Investing in America economic agenda is uplifting AANHPI entrepreneurs.
Administrator Guzman first visited Hiraya Cafe and Restaurant, a Filipino eatery that opened in fall 2023. There, she met with co-owners Chef Paolo Dungca and Jeremy Canlas to discuss their appreciation for the beauty and history of the Philippines and their journey to entrepreneurship.
Guzman then traveled to Malai, a South Asian-inspired ice cream shop that opened its first D.C. location earlier this month. At Malai, she spoke with founder and owner Pooja Bavishi about her experience as a first-generation Indian-American entrepreneur and sampled some of her unique ice cream flavors.
With more than 3 million small businesses across the nation, AANHPI entrepreneurs have played an indispensable role in the Biden-Harris Administration's historic Small Business Boom. After declining from 2017 to 2020, SBA-backed loans to AANHPI-owned businesses are once again on the rise, with loan count and total dollars both increasing by more than a third since 2020.
For follow-up interview requests for Administrator Guzman, please contact Rebecca Galanti at rebecca.galanti@sba.gov.
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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 or 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. To learn more, visit www.sba.gov.
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