On Wednesday, September 25, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and a member of President Biden’s Cabinet, traveled to Nebraska to mark Hispanic Heritage Month and meet with Tribal leaders. The discussions focused on the SBA’s efforts to support entrepreneurship and economic development in Native American communities.

In Omaha, Administrator Guzman celebrated Hispanic Heritage Month with a visit to Elevator Co-Warehousing + Community. This local Latino- and woman-owned small business provides office and warehouse spaces for local small businesses. Founded in 2022, Elevator is part of a significant small business boom driven by women and people of color. Under the Biden-Harris Administration, there have been a record 19.4 million new business applications nationwide, including over 75,000 in Nebraska.

Later in the day, she visited Nebraska Indian Community College in Macy to meet with an inaugural grantee of the SBA’s Tribal College Small Business Achievement (TCSBA) program. The visit aimed to understand how the TCSBA grant is helping empower student entrepreneurs and local small businesses.

Administrator Guzman then traveled to Winnebago, Nebraska. There she met with the Winnebago Tribal Council as well as Ho-Chunk, Inc., a Winnebago Tribally-owned corporation participating in the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development Program. Over three decades, Ho-Chunk Inc. has reinvested more than $44 million in dividends into the Tribe, leading to a 78 percent increase in per-capita income for Tribal members. She also toured Ho-Chunk Village and gave remarks at Ho-Chunk Inc.’s 30th Anniversary Celebration.

For media inquiries or interview requests with Administrator Guzman, contact Rebecca Galanti at rebecca.galanti@sba.gov.

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