U.S. SBA Administrator Comes to NH

U.S. Rep. Ann McLane Kuster, D-NH, brought U.S. SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet to Concord to participate in a roundtable discussion and Q&A session with local small business leaders, according to a press statement.

The visit provided event attendees with a valuable opportunity to hear firsthand from the SBA Administrator about how the SBA can help New Hampshire businesses expand and grow. The Administrator also updated local businesses on SBA efforts to increase U.S. exports, and she addressed the need to quickly reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which assists thousands of small businesses and is scheduled to expire in June.

“The Small Business Administration does extremely valuable work on behalf of our local businesses, and I was so proud to bring SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet to New Hampshire to share crucial information with our small business leaders about how the SBA can help them expand their businesses and create more jobs for our workers,” said Kuster. “Everyone knows small businesses are the backbone of every local economy, and today’s roundtable provided us with a great opportunity to both share information about available SBA resources, and to hear from our local business leaders about ways in which the SBA can continue to support their success. I sincerely thank the SBA Administrator and all of our roundtable participants for attending today’s event.”

The U.S. Small Business Administration is dedicated to helping small businesses succeed across the country, and the agency offers a number of resources and services to local businesses in New Hampshire. In particular, the SBA offers loans and other programs to help increase access to capital for small businesses, and during this roundtable, the SBA Administrator provided information about these services and heard from local businesses about their experiences with SBA programs and additional steps that can be taken to support their efforts. Information was also provided regarding the importance of the Export-Import Bank, which serves many of the SBA’s clients and which has bolstered the success of over 30 Granite State companies in recent years.

Since taking office, Kuster has made economic development and supporting small business growth one of her top priorities. During the roundtable, Kuster highlighted her legislation to help New Hampshire small businesses export goods to new markets, the Small Business Growth through Exports Act, which would extend and expand the SBA’s success STEP Grant Program. Kuster routinely visits small businesses and economic development projects across the state through her Congress-At-Your-Company series to hear how she can help support their success, and last year she authored a Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Agenda based on the feedback she received from Granite Staters all across the district on how best to create jobs in New Hampshire. The Congresswoman also holds a series of job fairs throughout the Second District to connect job seekers with business owners looking to hire.

The roundtable and Q&A session was held at Blake’s All Natural Foods in Concord. The President of Blake’s All Natural Foods, Chris Licata, was named SBA Small Businessperson of the Year in 2014.