Small Business Administration launches platform to offer assistance
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Small Business Administration this week announced the next generation of the SBA’S Lender Match tool for small businesses to connect to capital through SBA’S network of approved banks and private lenders.
The enhanced Lender Match will provide Americans seeking funding to start and grow their businesses with a simple, online tool that will more effectively match them with the SBA’S competitive lending products and additional offerings from a trusted network of banks and private lenders.
“Enhancing the SBA’S Lender Match tool is just one part of our unprecedented reforms to increase and streamline equitable access to affordable capital so small business owners can continue to innovate, create jobs, and be part of this Administration’s historic Investments in America,” SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said in a statement.
On the enhanced Lender Match platform, small business owners benefit from an improved, mobilefirst user interface that ensures better access and usability.
Borrowers will now be able to easily view all of their matched lenders in one place, allowing the borrower to find and compare lenders to help them decide where to apply for a loan. The enhanced tool will also verify borrowers and screen for fraud to streamline the process for both lenders and borrowers.
Importantly, with Lender Match, small businesses that are not matched to lenders will be connected to the SBA’S local network of free advisors to help them get capital-ready.
Currently, the SBA has large demand from small businesses seeking affordable capital – from microloans and growth capital to equipment and building financing – which the SBA offers with competitive rates and fees, lower down payments, and flexible overhead.
Every month, the SBA receives about 50,000 requests for capital through Lender Match. The platform features nearly 1,000 SBA lenders, including 257 community-based lenders, who can connect to potential customers and earn their business. The SBA’S enhanced Lender Match will build on this foundation to make more connections for entrepreneurs seeking capital.
More details are available at sba. gov