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What Resources Are Available Through the U.S. Small Business Administration?

When assessing your capital needs, you should consider programs offered through the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). Congress established the SBA in 1953 to aid, counsel, and protect the interests of the Nation's small business community. The SBA accomplishes this in part by working with intermediaries, banks, and other lending institutions to provide loans and venture capital financing to small businesses unable to secure financing through normal lending channels. The SBA offers financing through the programs listed below.

7(a) Loan Guaranty Program:

This is the SBA's primary lending program and was designed to meet the majority of the small business lending community's financing needs. In addition to general financing, the 7(a) program also encompasses a number of specialized loan programs. The following are a few of the many specialized loan programs:

Low Doc

This program is designed to increase the availability of funds under $100,000 and streamline or expedite the loan review process.

CAPLines

An umbrella program to help small businesses meet their short-term and cyclical working-capital needs with five separate programs.

International Trade

If your business is preparing to engage in or is already engaged in international trade, or is adversely affected by competition from imports, the International Trade Loan Program is for you; and

DELTA

Defense Loan and Technical Assistance is a joint SBA and Department of Defense effort to provide financial and technical assistance to defense-dependent small firms adversely affected by cutbacks in defense.

Microloan Program

This program works through intermediaries to provide small loans from as little as $100 up to $25,000.

Certified Development Company (504 Loan) Program

This program, commonly referred to as the 504 program, makes long term loans available for purchasing land, buildings, machinery and equipment, and for building, modernizing or renovating existing facilities and sites.

Small Business Investment Company Program

Small Business Investment Companies (SBICs), which the SBA licenses and regulates, are privately-owned and managed investment firms that provide venture capital and start-up financing to small businesses.

To find additional information on these and other financial programs please contact your local SBA District Office (call 1-800-8-ASK-SBA for the nearest office) or look on SBA's Web site (http://www.sba.gov).

Additional Financial Resources and Information from the SBA's Office of Advocacy

Angel Capital Electronic Network (ACE-Net)

The Office of Advocacy of SBA has established an Internet site where small companies may list their Regulation A and Regulation D 504/SCOR stock offerings. ACE-Net is a cooperative effort between SBA and nine universities, state-based entities, and other non-profit organizations to provide a listing service where small companies may list their stock offering for review by high net worth investors (accredited investors). In addition, ACE-Net anticipates providing mentoring and educational services for small companies needing business planning and securities information. You can find the ACE-Net Internet site at the following URLs: http://www.sba.gov/ADVO/.

Small Business Lending in the United States

The Office of Advocacy of SBA has ranked the nearly 10,000 banks in the country on a state-by-state basis to determine which banks are "small business friendly." The state-by-state directory helps small businesses locate which banks in their area are more likely to lend to small business. The directory is available over the Internet at: http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/.

Source: Securities and Exchange Commission

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