Vice President Kamala Harris and Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), announced a significant financial boost for small businesses and disaster-impacted communities in Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24). The SBA delivered $56 billion, marking a 7% increase in its annual capital portfolio compared to Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23). For the first time since 2008, more than 100,000 financings were made to small businesses, representing a 22% increase over FY23 and a 50% increase since 2020.
“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SBA has revolutionized its capital access programs, helping finance tens of thousands of small businesses in every corner of this country,” said Administrator Guzman. She emphasized the importance of capital for entrepreneurs at all stages of their business journey and highlighted the role of loans, investments, and surety bond guarantees in supporting America's economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.
The FY24 Capital Impact Report showed an increase in small dollar loans following program reforms that improved access to affordable small loans. These reforms included modernizing lending criteria for small loans and introducing new lenders with expertise on underserved borrowers into the 7(a) program. The report noted that these changes led to a doubling of loans under $150,000 since FY20 and a 33% increase since FY23.
Since 2020, there has been notable growth in loans to Black-, Latino-, and women-owned businesses. In FY24, the SBA backed:
- 5,200 loans totaling $1.5 billion for Black-owned businesses.
- 9,600 loans amounting to $3.3 billion for Latino-owned businesses.
- 15,500 loans worth $5.6 billion for majority women-owned businesses.
The report also highlighted construction as the leading industry in the SBA’s 7(a) program due to significant investments in infrastructure and domestic manufacturing under President Biden's administration.
For more detailed information on SBA’s loan programs, visit the SBA Office Of Capital Access - Dataset - U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) | Open Data. Small businesses can use SBA’s Lender Match page to connect with participating lenders offering competitive rates and fees.
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