The Small Business Administration said it supported $56 billion in financing for small businesses and disaster-hit areas during the fiscal year ending Sept. 30, an increase of 7% from the previous year.
The growth was driven by smaller loans, the agency said in its annual capital impact report.
For the first time since 2008, the Small Business Administration distributed more than 100,000 in funding to small businesses, an increase of 22% from fiscal year 2023 and 50% from 2020.
The SBA does not make loans directly, except when related to disasters, but it works with lenders to distribute loans to small businesses. Loans usually have better interest rates than traditional loans.
“As every entrepreneur knows, capital is critical,” said SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman. “Through loans, investments, and bond guarantees, the SBA has helped support small businesses, which in turn have fueled America’s unparalleled economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis.”
Many of the loans were small dollars, a priority for the Small Business Federation. The Small Business Administration said it has supported more than 38,000 loans under $150,000, for a total of $2.7 billion. This is twice the volume of small-dollar loans taken out in 2020 and a third higher than in 2023.
The SBA said in the report that it implemented a rule to simplify and simplify lending standards for all lenders and strengthened its network of SBA lenders to give small businesses more access to small-dollar loans — rather than turning to credit cards or other high-interest loans. Options.
Particular emphasis was placed on Black, Latino, and women-owned businesses. The SBA helped distribute 5,200 loans worth $1.5 billion to Black-owned businesses, 9,600 loans worth $3.3 billion to Latino-owned businesses and 15,500 loans worth $5.6 billion to majority-women-owned businesses during the fiscal year.
