NATIONAL NEWS
U.S. Small Business Administration Announces Landmark Collaboration with Historically Black Fraternities and Sororities to Address the Wealth Gap Through Black Entrepreneurship FIRST OF ITS KIND AGREEMENT THAT WILL FOCUS ON IMPROVING FINANCIAL LITERACY, OUTREACH AND CAPI- TAL ACCESS OPPORTUNITIES ACROSS COMMUNITIES A dministrator Isabella Casillas Guzman, head of the U.S. Small Business Administra- tion (SBA) and the voice for tion. This collaboration will give NPHC members critical access to information that will promote small business growth and create jobs in all sectors of our economy.”
America’s 32.5 million small businesses in President Biden’s Cabinet, signed a Strategic Alliance Memorandum (SAM)—an authority unique to the SBA among federal agencies—with President Reuben A. Shelton III, Esq., on behalf of the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC)’s Council of Presi- dents, comprised of nine historically Black fraternities and sororities, some- times referred to as the “Divine Nine.” “This historic alliance between the SBA and the NPHC—the first of its kind for a government agency—will bring SBA’s valuable small business resources into reach for many small businesses and entrepreneurs, further- ing 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 fami- lies and communities for generations,” said Administrator Guzman. “Over the past 18 months, the SBA has made incredible progress reaching more of America’s small businesses, delivering vital resources and support to entre- preneurs who have been historically under-invested in and overlooked—the same people and communities hit hard- est by the COVID pandemic. Working alongside partners and allies within the Divine Nine will provide even greater reach for the SBA to better provide the highly entrepreneurial Black com- munity access to networks, financial literacy, technical training, and capital readiness so they can successfully real- ize their American Dreams of business ownership, create jobs, and advance
Often represented on thousands of university campuses, including Histori- cally Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), with members in leadership roles across civic and business organi- zations and the faith community, the NPHC boasts over 2.5 million active members and scores of alumni mem- bers. Taken together, this group of en- gaged leaders is a critical ally in helping building trust within key communities and introducing small business owners to critical resources to bolster their busi- ness outcomes as we seek to close the wealth gap. The SBA Has Deepened its Engage- ment and Support of African American, Black and Historically Disadvantaged Small Business Owners. In line with the Biden-Harris Ad- ministration’s agenda outlined in the recently released SBA Equity Action Plan, the SBA has instituted several major changes to level the playing field for all small businesses, including mak- ing impactful reforms to the Community Advantage (CA) Pilot loan program that prioritizes equitable access to capital for low-income borrowers and those from underserved communities, releasing disaggregated data across industries and sectors by race and ethnicity and helping to deliver contracting reforms to bring in new, diverse contractors, and launching the American Rescue Plan’s $100 mil- lion Community Navigators program.
our economy.”
Announced in the lead up to June- teenth, this new strategic alliance ad- vances the SBA’s implementation of the Biden-Harris Administration’s commit- ment to building equity throughout the federal government and across America. Under the new alliance, a unique agree- ment for a federal government agency, the partnership will focus on increas- ing financial literacy within traditionally underserved, disadvantaged communi- ties, expanding the Agency’s outreach, and 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. Reuben A. Shelton III, Esq., Chair- man of the Council of Presidents of the National Pan-Hellenic Council and Grand Polemarch of Kappa Alpha Psi Fra- ternity, Inc.: “The National Pan Hellenic Council and its affiliate organizations are very excited about this opportunity with the U.S. Small Business Administra-
14 | SUMMER 2022 ♦ THE JOURNAL
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