In Celebration of Black History Month, SBA Administrator Guzman Announces New Funding to Expand Outreach Centers for Women Entrepreneurs through Minority Serving Institutions

$1.5M Will be Awarded to Support the Expansion of the Agency’s Women’s Business Centers Across HBCUs and Higher Education Institutions Serving Hispanic, Tribal and AAPI Communities

Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman announced the availability of $1.5 million for 10 new grant opportunities for established Minority Serving Institutions aspiring to host a Women’s Business Center (WBC) to provide local outcome oriented business services for women entrepreneurs.

As Black History Month gets underway, the announcement highlights the Agency’s commitment to creating funding opportunities that increase equity for small business owners – a priority under Administrator Guzman. Through the SBA’s Office of Women’s Business Ownership’s (OWBO), the WBCs will help entrepreneurs pivot, grow and navigate new opportunities created through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, such as competing in the burgeoning industries solving climate change and to grow clean-energy supply chains that will help expand global exporting.

The purpose of the new funding will be for up to 10 private, non-profit organizations to provide entrepreneurial development services to women, with an emphasis on socially and economically disadvantaged entrepreneurs in locations that are outside of the geographical areas of existing WBCs.

Eligible applicants include the following institutions of higher education or their affiliates:

• Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)(as defined in 20 USC §1061)
• Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)(as defined in 20 USC § 1101a)
• Tribal Colleges and University (TCUs) (as defined in 20 USC 1059c)
• Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions (NHSIs)(as defined in 20 USC § 1059d(b))
• Alaska Native Serving Institutions (ANSIs)(as defined in 20 USC § 1059d(b)) of higher learning with existing minority entrepreneurship or related programs

Since March 2021 alone, twenty-four new centers have opened. Among the newest WBCs are three affiliated with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) and two in Puerto Rico, as well several focused on reaching entrepreneurs from rural communities. Currently, OWBO funds and supports the largest WBC network in the history of the SBA, with 140 centers in 49 states and Puerto Rico.

How to Apply

Eligible applicants must be private, non-profit organizations with 501(c) tax-exempt status from the U.S. Treasury’s Internal Revenue Service and must or be affiliated with a Minority Serving Institution.

The application acceptance period for this grant opportunity is Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, through Monday, March 14, 2022. Proposals responding to this program must be submitted through www.grants.gov by Monday, March 14, 2022, at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). No other methods of submission will be permitted. Proposals submitted after the stipulated deadline will be rejected without being evaluated.

Interested applicants may direct any questions about the WBC funding opportunity to Donald Smith, SBA Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Office of Women’s Business Ownership, at [email protected]. For issues with grants.gov, please visit www.grants.gov/web/grants/support, call the Grants.gov Support Line at 1-800-518-4726, or email [email protected].

The SBA’s WBC network provides one-on-one counseling, training, networking, workshops, technical assistance, and mentoring to women entrepreneurs on numerous business development topics, including business startup, financial management, marketing, and procurement. To find other WBC locations and additional SBA resources, visit www.sba.gov/tools/local-assistance.