Economic Development

SBA: Emerging Leaders Initiative to Help Growing Entrepreneurs Opens for Recruitment

The U.S. Small Business Administration announced the launch of the 2018 Emerging Leaders initiative for executives of small businesses poised for growth in emerging markets.  Local area recruitment for the 2018 training cycle is currently ongoing at designated SBA District Offices.  Classes are scheduled to begin this spring with specific dates differing by location.  Interested…

HUD: $243 Million in Grants Awarded to Help U.S. Virgin Islands Recover from Hurricanes

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today awarded $242.7 million to help the U.S. Virgin Islands to recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. HUD’s Deputy Secretary Pamela Hughes Patenaude announced the disaster recovery grants with Governor Kenneth E. Mapp during a tour of damaged homes in St. Thomas. These recovery funds awarded…

SBA: Proposed Rule Issued to Move Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Program to SBA

Department of Veterans Affairs issues proposed rule to move to the Small Business Administration regulations relating to business ownership and control for the purposes of its Veteran-Owned Small Business Verification Program and to clarify other terms and references used in this program. The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is proposing to amend its regulations governing…

SBA: U.S. Census Bureau to Conduct New Business Survey, Combine and Replace Previous Surveys

The U.S. Census Bureau plans to conduct a new business survey, the Annual Business Survey, which will combine and replace previous Census surveys: the five-year Survey of Business Owners, the Annual Survey of Entrepreneurs, and the Business R & D and Innovation for Microbusinesses survey.  The Census Bureau expects the proposed changes will streamline costs,…

CDFI Fund: FY 2018 Funding Round for CDFI Program and NACA Program Opened

Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund) opened the fiscal year (FY) 2018 funding round for the Community Development Financial Institutions Program (CDFI Program) and Native American CDFI Assistance Program (NACA Program). The awards from these programs will support Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) providing affordable financing and…

HUD: Wholesale Review of Manufactured Housing Rules Announced

Public comment sought in effort to identify regulations that stifle affordable housing and job creation The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) today announced a top-to-bottom review of its manufactured housing rules as part of a broader effort to identify regulations that may be ineffective, overly burdensome, or excessively costly given the critical…

SBA: Free Webinar Series to Help Small Businesses Navigate the HUBZone Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration will present a six-part, free webinar series to help small businesses navigate its Historically Underutilized Business (HUB) Zone Program that will run from February to mid-March. The hour-long webinars will cover the following topics: Feb. 7 HUBZone Contracting:  Make the Federal Government Your Customer             2-3p.m. EST Small businesses will…

ABA: Bank Economists See Solid Economic Growth Supported by Tax Reform

The U.S. economy will continue to grow through 2019, surpassing the longest previous period of economic prosperity in the post-war era, according to the Economic Advisory Committee of the American Bankers Association. “This expansion has already spanned nine years, supported by strengthening labor markets, low interest rates, and a late-cycle resurgence in business investment,” said…

SBA: New Report Helps Explain Differences in Latino Business Ownership and Income

A new report prepared for the Office of Advocacy by Professor Robert Fairlie, “Latino Business Ownership: Contributions and Barriers for U.S. Born and Immigrant Latino Entrepreneurs,” evaluates the differences in Latino self-employment rates and business income, comparing immigrant and U.S.-born Latino men and women with non-minorities. Roughly 600,000 business owners are U.S.-born Latinos, with an…