Small Business Blog from Atlantic Canada

I am "CA" Atreya (PMP, MBA), the author of this blog. I help businesses in Atlantic Canada achieve their BHAG successfully. You may subscribe to this blog using a feed reader (RSS).

This is regarding Anita Campbell’s comment on the government attention on small businesses.

I came across an article at the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) that mentioned cuts by the Federal government for microloan programs and their plans not to fund the Small Business Administration microloan program. Microfinance and business counseling plays a key role in developing entrepreneurship. The SBA microloan program provides entrepreneurs is the lender of last resort for individuals who cannot get funding from traditional sources like commercial banks.

This program also funds other non-profit organizations that promote entrepreneurship. Such non-profit organizations also provide training and business counseling to small business entrepreneurs. AEO estimates that 10 million small businesses in the US will have difficulty accessing financing. Abandoning this funding is at the cost of expanding funding programs in other countries, including Iraq.

Just to give some perspective, in FY 2006, the SBA microloan program alone created or retained a total of 9955 jobs and made over 2000 loans totaling $32.4 million. Small businesses are the life and blood of any economy. Cut out financing for such small entrepreneurs and you are essentially choking them. Congress did increase SBA’s funding for disaster assistance and agency operations, but received no funds for lending.

Subsequent news release by the SBA highlights the fact that the federal government is not the primary source of funding for Small Business Development Centres and Women’s Business Centres. It is not the government that is the primary small business driver - but private donors. How will you contribute to its development?

References:

1. Deep cuts for SBA Microloan Program can mean loss of resources for entrepreneurs

2. US Small Business Administration

3. News Release - SBA FY 2008 Budget Proposal: Myth vs Fact

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