SBA Grant To State Small Business Centers Supports Job Creation

HARTFORD – Small businesses in Connecticut will soon have greater access to critical resources to help them start or grow their businesses and create jobs, thanks to a $555,996 grant to SBA’s Connecticut Small Business Development Center.

The funding was provided under a key provision of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 signed by the President last September, which provided $50 million in grants to SBA’s Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) across the country to support job creation and retention within the small business community by providing in-depth business counseling and advice to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

The Jobs Act grants are a one-time funding intended to meet the critical need for business expansion and job creation, and are not intended to replace the core funding or the matching funds that the SBDCs require to sustain the program annually. The grants are intended for energy audits, international trade, and access to capital.

This one-time only grant to the Connecticut’s SBDC center will allow it to:

*Provide energy efficiency audits to reduce small business energy costs; provide international business support to existing small business entities

*Cosponsor with Connecticut Light and Power (CL&P) and United Illuminating (UI) in the service delivery of the existing Small Business Energy Advantage (SBEA) program. The program provides cost-effective, turnkey energy-saving services for both small commercial and industrial customers who do not have the time, financial resources, or resident expertise necessary to assess and analyze their energy use in order to reduce energy usage to realize savings.

*Provide international business support to existing small business entities — in collaboration with the US Export Assistance Center and the Connecticut Department of Economic and Community Development, will offer a comprehensive training and technical assistance program designed to assist 30 established small businesses in becoming export-ready and growing their operations internationally. Participants will implement what they are learning during workshops to develop a customized export strategy; and

*Provide technical assistance to small businesses seeking capital or credit in collaboration with the Connecticut Credit Consortium, and provide management, technical assistance, and loan packaging services to companies wishing to take advantage of a newly created $15 million small business assistance state revolving loan program. The loan program was specifically designed to provide direct loans and lines of credit to qualified businesses seeking to grow and/or stabilize operations. The target market of small businesses served will be those entities employing 50 or fewer employees.

“This is yet another example of the Small Business Jobs Act putting proven tools in the hands of America’s entrepreneurs and small business owners,” said SBA’s Bernard Sweeney, district director. “SBA’s extensive network of about 900 Small Business Development Centers continues to play a critical role in helping them grow businesses and create jobs. I’m pleased that these resources are being delivered quickly to hard-hit states like Connecticut.”