UPDATE SBA and Dept. of Veterans Affairs Join Forces to Promote Veteran Entrepreneurship
12 Agosto 2024 - 11:55AM
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.”
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.
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About the SBA’s Office of Veterans Business
Development
The SBA’s Office of Veterans Business Development (OVBD) works
through the SBA’s extensive resource partner network, which
includes Small Business Development Centers, SCORE, Women’s
Business Centers, and 28 VBOCs located throughout the nation. VBOCs
are also the leading partner in hosting the “Boots to Business” and
“Boots to Business Reboot” programs, which offer courses on
entrepreneurship on military installations and in local
communities. Since the program’s inception in 2013, Boots to
Business has trained and graduated more than 210,000 service
members, veterans, National Guard and Reserve members, and military
spouses. For more information on the resources available for
veteran entrepreneurs, visit sba.gov/veterans.
About the U.S. Small Business AdministrationThe U.S.
Small Business Administration helps power the American dream of
business ownership. As the only go-to resource and voice for small
businesses backed by the strength of the federal government, the
SBA empowers entrepreneurs and small business owners with the
resources and support they need to start, grow or expand their
businesses, or recover from a declared disaster. It delivers
services through an extensive network of SBA field offices and
partnerships with public and private organizations. To learn more,
visit www.sba.gov.
Christine Saah Nazer
U.S. Small Business Administration
202-756-0304
Christine.SaahNazer@sba.gov