SAN JUAN – From Monday, July 15 through Tuesday, July 16, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Biden’s Cabinet representing America's more than 33 million small businesses, visited Puerto Rico to participate in the Global Entrepreneurship Conference. During her visit, she engaged with local small businesses and discussed strategies for promoting entrepreneurship in Puerto Rico and across the Western Hemisphere.
On Monday, Administrator Guzman participated in a fireside chat at the Global Entrepreneurship Congress (GEC) with Founder and President Jonathan Ortmans to discuss entrepreneurship in the U.S. and highlight the SBA’s efforts to promote Latino small business ownership. Later that day, she attended a small business roundtable hosted by the Puerto Rico Department of Economic Development and Commerce to discuss Puerto Rico’s exporting economy. The SBA subsequently signed a strategic alliance memorandum with Hecho en Puerto Rico aimed at strengthening access to international trade opportunities for Puerto Rican small businesses.
In the afternoon, Administrator Guzman visited Condado Window, a local manufacturer of hurricane-resistant doors and windows. She highlighted Puerto Rico’s small business economy and discussed funding opportunities available under President Biden’s Investing in America agenda designed to lower energy costs and boost productivity for manufacturers. Following this visit, she engaged in another fireside chat with the Metro Women’s Business Center focusing on women entrepreneurship growth in Puerto Rico before touring a bazaar featuring women-owned small businesses alongside San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero Lugo.
On Tuesday, July 16, Administrator Guzman delivered a keynote speech at the Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) of Puerto Rico’s Third Disaster Business Resilience Forum held in Carolina. She emphasized the SBA’s disaster preparedness and recovery resources alongside national and local emergency management officials. Afterward, she toured the Carolina Entrepreneurial Center with Carolina Mayor José Carlos Aponte and other local officials.
In the afternoon session on Tuesday, Administrator Guzman joined the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Startup Nations Ministerial. This event was hosted by the SBA in partnership with GEN to bring together government officials from Latin America and the Caribbean responsible for advancing small business innovation and entrepreneurship.
Under the Biden-Harris Administration, there has been a significant increase in new business applications nationwide—over 18.5 million—with Latino entrepreneurs playing a crucial role. Latino entrepreneurship is currently at its highest rate in three decades; one in ten Latino households now owns a business.
For follow-up interview requests for Administrator Guzman, please contact Rebecca Galanti at rebecca.galanti@sba.gov
About the U.S. Small Business Administration
The U.S. Small Business Administration helps power American dreams of business ownership by providing resources and support needed to start, grow or expand businesses or recover from declared disasters through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations.