Ed. note: This is crossposted from the Small Business Administration Community Blog
Today, President Obama signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS), making it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs to obtain much needed access to capital. This new law creates an enhanced environment for growth.
Last year, senior SBA officials traveled around the country listening to high-growth entrepreneurs. We heard your concerns and learned about the barriers to expansion particularly for high-growth industries and the need for a simplified process-one that any business could use to grow and create jobs. We know that small businesses have struggled to find access to capital in this environment, not just in lending, but in equity financing as well, and in all stages of the company’s development.
The SBA has already helped thousands of high-growth businesses. The Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program – a great source of equity capital for high-growth companies – licensed twice the number of funds in half the time in FY 2011 compared to the average from FY 2006 through FY 2009. In FY 2011, the SBIC Program provided a 50-year record high of $1.6 billion in financing for small businesses. SBA also revitalized the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and helped agencies distribute $2.5 billion in funding to qualified small businesses.
Fonte: White House