By Logan B. Anderson

To bolster the economy and speed COVID-19-related recovery, the U.S. Small Business Administration has partnered with the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce to support Black-owned businesses.

At the start of Black History Month last week, SBA announced that it will launch a quarterly virtual training series about federal government financing and procurement programs.

The educational series will help attendees navigate programs that could give them access to funding and new customers.

According to a survey from SBA-funded SCORE — titled “The Megaphone of Main Street: The Impact of Covid-19, Impact on Black-owned Small Businesses” — only 8.8% of Black-owned businesses labeled themselves as profitable. Nearly 40% of those polled said COVID-19 had affected their families directly, and 41.3% of Black-owned businesses applied for SBA loans, with only 8.4% receiving the full amount.

“That survey also shows that Black-owned businesses are likely to seek — but may be less likely than some other groups to receive — outside funding. In response, this virtual training series introduces information and resources to help secure financing and succeed in the federal government contracting arena,” said John Fleming, SBA Mid-Atlantic regional administrator and acting Delaware director.

Beyond funding, the series will provide information on how to connect with a very good customer: the federal government.

According to SBA leaders, the U.S. government is the largest purchaser of goods and services in the world, buying everything from software and building construction to financial and asset management — making its procurement a powerful tool to advance equity and build wealth in underserved communities.

Despite this, less than 10% of federal agencies’ total eligible contracting dollars typically go to small, disadvantaged businesses, so increasing federal spending with underserved businesses would narrow persistent wealth disparities.

Furthermore, differences in business ownership account for 20% of the wealth gap between average White and Black households.

“Black History Month is an ideal time to launch this series,” said Ayanna Kahn, founder/CEO of the Delaware Black Chamber of Commerce. “The Delaware Black chamber focuses on change-making, community-building and advancement — exactly what Black History Month celebrates. And that is exactly the spirit with which we look to support entrepreneurism through this learning opportunity.”

The series will feature information on federal loans for real estate and equipment, microloans, disaster recovery and exporting. It will also feature SBA’s business-development program and details on how the federal government buys goods and services.

The program will begin Feb. 16 and is free to attend.

Visit here to register and for more information.