This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Calling it “historic progress,” the U.S. Small Business Administration announced it has doubled lending to Black businesses nationwide in multiple categories. The SBA on Thursday, Sept. 21, reported it has backed 4,387 loans to Black-owned businesses so far in fiscal  2023 via its 7(a) and 504 loan programs, over twice as many as since 2020. In terms of loan amounts, a total of $1.3 billion has been provided, constituting a 7.5% overall share of SBA-approved loans for businesses, also showcasing a doubling since 2020. The SBA reported that women and people of color have led a historic small business boom. Some 13.1 million new business applications have been filed with the agency since President Joe Biden took office— a rate 65% faster than the pre-pandemic average.   SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman and Congressman Steven Horsford (D–NV Fourth District) announced the loan performance at the 2023 Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s Annual Legislative Conferenc...

A groundbreaking new study reveals a remarkable increase in SBA 7(a) loans, both in count and total value, to Black or African American entrepreneurs from 2017 to 2023. The data underlines significant strides in fostering greater small business lending equity. We predict 7(a) lending to African American firms will reach $1 billion in 2023, up from $599 million in 2017. In 2017, a modest 3.86% of SBA 7(a) loans were disbursed to Black business owners. By 2023, this figure had surged to an encouraging 7.76%. In parallel, the percentage of total loan value received by Black entrepreneurs climbed from 2.36% to 4.41% over the same period. "We are heartened by these findings," says William Michael Cunningham, CEO of Creative Investment Research, "which signal the tangible progress we've been striving for. However, they also underscore the critical work that remains in order to achieve true equity in small business financing." While the study's results clearly ill...

On June 15, 2020, the SBA announced they were restarting the EIDL program with an additional $60 billion in funding.  Independent contractors, freelancers, and gig workers can receive a $1,000 grant which you do not have to repay.  Small businesses can apply for a grant of up to $1,000 per employee. Maximum $10,000.  Loans from $150,000 to $2,000,000 may also be available. Apply at covid19relief.sba.gov See the video at right for more information.

The LA Times @latimes found members of 2 fake “tribes” in racist, bigoted  Alabama got over $500 mil in no bid Federal contracts as minority business owners. This brings the grand total of Federal SBA dollars swindled uncovered by @latimes to over $800 mil. The Small Business Administration certified William Michael Cunningham as an 8(a) program participant on October 19, 2005. He did not receive any federal government contract revenue. He withdrew from the program, under retaliatory pressure by the SBA in 2008, shortly after he met and wrote to Henry Paulson, Jr., Secretary, US Department of the Treasury, offering to assist the country recover quickly from the financial crisis. He wrote to the Honorable Nydia M. Velázquez, Chairwoman, Committee on Small Business of the United States House of Representatives, describing his experiences. See:  https://www.sec.gov/comments/s7-08-13/s70813-32.pdf