America was built on the dreams of small business owners. The Small Business Administration notes there are over 33.2 million small businesses in the US, making up 99.9% of all businesses.
Small businesses employ almost half of the US workforce and add 44% to its GDP. Immigrants have started up more than 18% of small businesses in the US. During the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 1/3 of US businesses closed down – many permanently – while others struggled to survive. The pandemic unexpectedly proved a boon for others, as lockdowns allowed small entrepreneurs to turn their passions into full-fledged companies.
EMS briefing on July 14 explored the challenges of accessing funding to start up and expand a small business. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, presented his plan for expanding America’s small businesses.
Charles Phillips, co-founder of the African-American Economic Alliance, believes that small businesses not only contribute to the economic development of the United States, but also rely on many people to support their families. The large number of small businesses that closed down during the epidemic are now trying to make a comeback, and they need the support of the government. The financing challenges faced by small businesses during the start-up process are particularly severe for women and minorities.
In fact, the government does have some funds and resources to support small businesses, but the problem now is that many entrepreneurs do not know where to get support and how to use the resources. In addition, it is also challenging to find educational and technical support personnel, such as managers, accountants, lawyers, etc. Some companies have to limit the scale of development because they do not have the support of these resources.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, Co-Chair of the Community Development Finance Caucus said that the two parties have reached a consensus in recent years to give more incentives and support to small businesses, ethnic minorities or disadvantaged groups, and female entrepreneurs . Including providing low-interest loan concessions for low-income first-time homebuyers for up to 30 years, helping ethnic minorities and female entrepreneurs to obtain financing and technical support, etc. At present, the federal government has a special fund of $1 Billion, which will be used to build local development centers to help small businesses start and develop. Warner said the federal government currently has $12 billion in funding to help small businesses. Based on his own experience, Warner said that it is easier for white men to obtain business loans. He said that in addition to strong capital, large companies also have many partners and abundant resources, and it is difficult for small companies that go it alone to compete with them in the market. He believes that small businesses are very important to the US market, economic diversification and long-term competitiveness.
Shelly Kapoor Collins, founder of Shatter Fund, who has worked in the venture capital industry for 35 years, said that in the venture capital industry, only 2% of the venture capital funds in the past may have been given to female entrepreneurs. This situation is changing now, but the trust women entrepreneurs get and support is still not as good as men.
Vidya Sethuraman
India Post News Service
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