SBA and Dept. of Veterans Affairs Join Forces to Promote Veteran Entrepreneurship
U.S. Small Business Administration
Empowering small businesses to succeed.
New Agreement Formalizes Collaboration on Nationwide Trainings
On August 12, 2024,?Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the?U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 34 million small businesses, announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA). This partnership between OVBD and VBA will improve access to self-employment assistance and SBA training and counseling for active-duty service members and service-disabled veterans participating in the Veteran Readiness & Employment Program (VR&E), also known as Chapter 31. The MOU will run through June 17, 2028.
“This agreement further strengthens coordination between the SBA and VA and will enable countless more veterans to access the capital and resources they need to start, build, and grow their businesses,” said Administrator Guzman. “Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SBA continues to deliver a strong record of supporting veterans, including increasing the number of Veterans Business Outreach Centers and creating greater access to federal contracts. This new agreement builds on the President’s ongoing commitment to help veterans pursue the American Dream of business ownership.”
“The SBA is proud to sign this MOU with the VA, which gives both agencies more opportunity to maximize our resources and help VR&E program participants find meaningful entrepreneurship opportunities,”?said Robert Yannuzzi, Assistant Administrator for the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development. “SBA resources have helped many veterans and service members start or expand successful small businesses that contribute to local and national economies. We are eager to continue this work and help guide VR&E participants in pursuit of their piece of the American dream.”
领英推荐
The SBA and VA will collaborate to hold joint training sessions, information sessions, and individual group training to train staff on the VR&E program as well as SBA resources to advance and expand appropriate self-employment opportunities for Chapter 31 participants.
Through SBA’s OVBD, Chapter 31 participants will have increased access to SBA resources nationwide, such as 28 Veterans Business Outreach Centers (VBOC) that will be expanding to 31 VBOCs this year, 68 District Offices, and other local resource partners like SCORE, Small Business Development Centers (SBDC), and Women’s Business Centers (WBC). These organizations will help participants get entrepreneurship training, learn new skills, and evaluate their business plans to start and grow a small business.
Veterans Service Representative | Serving Veterans, Building Relationships, Economic Development, Apprenticeship, Youth apprenticeship, Aerospace Apprenticeship, Chamber of Commerce, Embassy, Construction Training
1 个月Veterans loan fund? BBIF
Relentless advocate for small businesses and military, diversely-abled and justice-involved talent. ??Matching . People . Instantly?? Leader in skills-based hiring. ?? Warrior Rising ?? Goldman Sachs 10KSB Alumni
3 个月What this message means is that the need to ensure #smallbusiness owners (no matter who the business owner is) get recognition and attention as to their importance to our country. I am a service-disabled, female veteran. I've had the privilege of meeting and speaking with Administrator Guzman at a U.S. Small Business Administration event recently. This MOU isn't going to solve all the challenges for small business owners, but the awareness is a good thing. Talents ASCEND? is here to serve small businesses and untapped talent. Matching . People . Instantly
This collaboration between the SBA and VA is a commendable step forward in empowering veteran entrepreneurs. It's an impressive initiative that will undoubtedly help countless veterans turn their business dreams into reality.
Veterans Service Representative | Serving Veterans, Building Relationships, Economic Development, Apprenticeship, Youth apprenticeship, Aerospace Apprenticeship, Chamber of Commerce, Embassy, Construction Training
3 个月USLVSE
Veterans Service Representative | Serving Veterans, Building Relationships, Economic Development, Apprenticeship, Youth apprenticeship, Aerospace Apprenticeship, Chamber of Commerce, Embassy, Construction Training
3 个月Sgt. Waddell McGee