SBA Building Black Entrepreneurship Through NPHC Collaboration
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) recently signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum.
Under this alliance with the NPHC – comprised of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities – the partnership will work to improve financial literacy in traditionally underserved communities, and provide Black entrepreneurs with the SBA’s resources and tools to launch and grow their companies.
Read on as we explore the specifics of this new strategic alliance.
The SBA-NPHC Alliance
According to the SBA, the alliance – the first of its kind for any government agency – will have several aims:
- Increasing financial literacy within traditionally underserved, disadvantaged communities
- Expanding the agency’s outreach
- Introducing Black entrepreneurs to the SBA’s suite of tools and resources to start and grow their businesses, including access to capital, government contracting opportunities and counseling.
The NPHC represents more than 2.5 million active members, as well as millions more alumni, across thousands of university campuses. It does so through organizations including Alpha Phil Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma and Iota Phi Theta fraternities, and Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho sororities.
“Working alongside partners and allies within the Divine Nine will provide even greater reach for the SBA to better provide the highly entrepreneurial Black community access to networks, financial literacy, technical training and capital readiness so they can successfully realize their American Dreams of business ownership, create jobs and advance our economy,” says Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
“This historic alliance between the SBA and the NPHC … will bring SBA’s valuable small business resources into reach for many small businesses and entrepreneurs, furthering the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to build equity and close historic wealth gaps that have held back America’s Black entrepreneurs, small business owners and their families and communities for generations,” she adds.
Support for Minority Small Business Owners
The alliance is the latest change made under the SBA Equity Action Plan. The plan is designed to level the playing field for small businesses. The SBA also points out that it has:
- Made impactful reforms to the Community Advantage (CA) Pilot loan program, which prioritizes equitable access to capital for low-income borrowers and those from underserved communities.
- Released disaggregated data across industries and sectors by race and ethnicity.
- Helped to deliver contracting reforms to bring in new, diverse contractors.
- Launched the American Rescue Plan’s $100 million Community Navigators.
Of course, the SBA isn’t the only organization trying to lift up minority-owned small businesses. The National Black MBA Association, Coalition to Back Black Businesses and the Asian Women Giving Circle are among several groups and businesses providing grants to minority-owned businesses.
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Tags: McManamon, McManamon & Co., small business, small business finances | Posted in Small business finances