Funding will help small manufacturers scale production and support strategic priorities
Today, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced it awarded $8.9 million in grants across 18 organizations through its Supply Chain Acceleration and Logistics Enablement (SCALE) Program. Grantees will receive up to $500,000 each during a two-year period beginning September 30 to counsel small manufacturers on solving for supply chain constraints, growing production, and expanding participation in strategically important supply chains in order to strengthen America’s industrial base.
“Thanks to the Administration’s commitment to Made in America, the Trump SBA is dedicated to strengthening our industrial capacity by delivering capital and resources to the small manufacturers that make up 98% of our manufacturing base,” said SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler. “Through our focused SCALE awards, we are empowering innovative organizations to advise small manufacturers as they meet growing demand, expand and reshore production, and strengthen the critical supply chains that underpin American economic and national security.”
Grantees will provide technical assistance, accelerator programming, supplier matchmaking, and industry engagement to help small businesses address operational, technical, workforce, and market-access barriers. The program prioritizes advanced manufacturing; biotechnology and biomanufacturing; defense technologies and components; energy and critical materials; food and agriculture; and transportation, logistics, and industrial infrastructure.
The SBA has committed to rebuilding American supply chains and domestic manufacturing through a series of targeted initiatives. This year, the agency waived loan fees for manufacturing NAICS codes, established the first-ever loan program dedicated to American manufacturers, and modernizedthe Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program so more private capital flows into critical, supply‑chain‑sensitive industries. The agency also announced a new 90% Made in America Loan Guarantee for small manufacturers and continues to promote existing programs such as the asset-based 7(a) Working Capital Pilot (WCP) Program.
Launched this year as a successor to the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition, SCALE will support organizations in 17 states. Its priority industries were informed by public input received through SBA’s May 2026 Request for Information on supply chain gaps and entrepreneurial assistance (91 FR 23522).
The SCALE grantees are as follows:
| STATE | ORGANIZATION | INDUSTRY |
| Alabama | Hybird Space Systems | Defense Industrial Base |
| Arkansas | Community Venture Foundation | Transportation |
| Arizona | Yavapai County Community College District | Advanced Manufacturing |
| California | Southwestern Community College District | Defense Industrial Base |
| District of Columbia | Resilient Supply Chains | Energy |
| Florida | The University of Central Florida Research Foundation | Food Supply |
| Georgia | Georgia Tech Research Corporation | Energy |
| Indiana | Purdue University | Biotechnology |
| Michigan | Lawrence Technological University | Advanced Manufacturing |
| Mississippi | Gulf Blue | Defense Industrial Base |
| North Carolina | North Carolinas Eastern Economic Development Corporation | Defense Industrial Base |
| New York | Launch NY | Energy |
| Ohio | The Entrepreneurs’ Center | Defense Industrial Base |
| Pennsylvania | The DVIRC Institute for Manufacturing Excellence | Defense Industrial Base |
| Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania State University | Advanced Manufacturing |
| Texas | ARC Aerospace and Defense Systems | Defense Industrial Base |
| Utah | LSI Business Development | Defense Industrial Base |
| Virginia | A. L. Philpott Manufacturing Extension Partnership | Advanced Manufacturing |