Small Business Administration

The SBA budget requests $1 billion in new spending authority, including the expanded New Markets Venture Capital Program mentioned under the Interagency Initiatives. The program is designed to increase access to equity capital and technical assistance to women, minorities and to businesses located in low- and  moderate-income rural areas and inner cities. It proposes $150 million in SBA-backed funds for these venture capital companies, and $30 million to pay for technical assistance for the firms in which they invest.

Other potentially technology-relevant highlights include:

• $14 million under the Small Business Innovation Research program to help small companies commercialize products they develop under the sponsorship of the federal government. The 3-year pilot program would would support Phase III by providing federal funds averaging $250,000, to match contributions from non-federal sources in a 1:2 ratio. An additional $1 million is proposed to develop multi-agency SBIR solicitation topics, solicit white papers and hold workshops for small businesses.
• $60 million (up $30 million) in loans under the Microloan program, and $45 million in technical assistance for Microloan borrowers;
• $2.5 billion in venture capital assistance under the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) programs;
• $15 million in technical assistance for individuals, small businesses and micro-enterprise lenders under the PRIME program;
• $5 million for increasing small business capacity to use electronic commerce through technical assistance;
• $6.6 million for BusinessLINC – a New Markets initiative linking large and small businesses in mentoring and direct technical assistance relationships; and,
• $88 million for Small Business Development Centers