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4/5/2024

U.S. Department of the Treasury Now Accepting Applications for New Investing in America Small Business Opportunity P…

U.S. Department of the Treasury Now Accepting Applications for
New Investing in America Small Business Opportunity Program
April 5, 2024

The $75 million SSBCI Investing in America Small Business Opportunity Program, funded by
the American Rescue Plan, will help small business owners and entrepreneurs across the
country access the capital they need to grow and succeed
WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury announced the opening of the 60day application window for the Investing in America Small Business Opportunity Program
(SBOP) – a U.S. Treasury competitive grant program funded by the State Small Business Credit
Initiative (SSBCI).
Through the SBOP, eligible states, territories, and Tribal governments can compete for a share
of $75 million in grant funding from the American Rescue Plan (ARP) to provide critical
technical assistance to small businesses and entrepreneurs – helping these small companies
access financing opportunities. This includes new financing like that o ered through SSBCIʼs
capital program, as well as other support made available through the Biden-Harris
Administrationʼs Investing in America Agenda, including the ARP, Bipartisan Infrastructure
Law, CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.
SBOP builds upon the SSBCI funding previously announced to support technical assistance
delivered through Treasuryʼs formula-based SSBCI Technical Assistance Grant Program and
the Minority Business Development Agencyʼs (MBDA) Capital Readiness Program. Collectively,
these programs will help states, Tribal governments, and territories leverage the Biden-Harris
Administrationʼs historic support for small business capital access to help entrepreneurs and
small business owners – particularly those that have been underserved – take advantage of
opportunities, including in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy, climate resiliency, and
other critical sectors.
“The Small Business Opportunity Program is a key part of President Bidenʼs e orts to
continue the historic small business boom seen during this administration,” said U.S. Deputy
Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Through this new program, entrepreneurs will

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U.S. Department of the Treasury Now Accepting Applications for New Investing in America Small Business Opportunity P…

get important technical assistance to access the capital needed for their businesses to grow
and thrive.”
The application period for SBOP opens today, April 5, 2024, for eligible applicants, which are
states, territories, the District of Columbia, and Tribes participating in the existing SSBCI
Capital Program. Applicants are encouraged to collaborate regionally and partner with
philanthropic or corporate stakeholders to bring additional resources to the work of
increasing access to technical assistance for small businesses in their markets. Treasury
currently expects to make between 8 and 15 SBOP awards of between $5 and $10 million each
later this summer.
SBOP is the latest ARP SSBCI investment helping small businesses access the historic capital
support and opportunities made available through the Biden-Harris Administrationʼs Investing
in America Agenda. In August, Vice President Harris announced the 43 winners of the Capital
Readiness Program to help underserved entrepreneurs launch and scale their small businesses
— the largest-ever direct federal investment in small business incubators and accelerators of
its kind. Treasury has also announced the approval of $135 million for 40 states and territories
through the SSBCI Technical Assistance Grant Program, which will provide vital aid to help
small businesses become “capital ready” by preparing them to take on loans or investment
and steward capital for small business success. In addition, the Treasury Department has
announced the approval of state, territory, and Tribal government plans corresponding to
more than $8.4 billion in funding under the SSBCI Capital Program to support small business
and entrepreneurship and expand access to capital.
SSBCI was originally established in 2010 to increase access to capital for small businesses and
entrepreneurs. Through President Bidenʼs ARP, this successful program was reauthorized and
expanded to provide nearly $10 billion to states, the District of Columbia, territories, and
Tribal governments to catalyze lending and investing in small businesses, build ecosystems of
opportunity and entrepreneurship, and create high-quality jobs. SSBCI includes funding and
incentives for jurisdictions to create opportunities for underserved businesses.
SSBCI is expected to directly benefit up to100,000 small businesses and catalyze up to $10 of
private investment for every $1 of SSBCI capital funding, amplifying the e ects of this funding
and providing small business owners with the resources they need to sustainably grow and
thrive.
SSBCI is only one of a number of programs that demonstrate Treasuryʼs commitment to
supporting businesses across all communities. The Treasury Department aims to ensure that
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U.S. Department of the Treasury Now Accepting Applications for New Investing in America Small Business Opportunity P…

these programs reach historically underserved entrepreneurs and small businesses and that
the small business boom grows the vibrancy of local economies in communities that were
disproportionately harmed by the pandemic. These programs are key to the Biden-Harris
Administrationʼs strategy to strengthen the small business creation seen since the start of
this Administration by unlocking access to private capital and critical technical assistance that
bolsters small business support network.
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