Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman, head of the US Small Business Administration (SBA) and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 33 million small businesses, announced 28 awardees for the 2024 Program for Investment in Microentrepreneurs (PRIME) grant awards, totaling $7 million.
“The SBA’s PRIME grants support mission-oriented nonprofit organizations across America that are advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to fill capital gaps so more Americans can start and grow their businesses successfully,” said Administrator Guzman. “These 28 community organizations will help the SBA strengthen its network of local, trusted partners who can level the playing field for the smallest of small businesses, especially those in underserved communities, so they can realize their American dreams of business ownership and create jobs and produce for our economy.”
Lead Applicant Lehigh University with Bucknell University, Pennsylvania Western University, Clarion University and Shippensburg University are members a collaborative of Small Business Development Centers, PA Microenterprise Advancement Project. The collaborative, under the lead applicant Lehigh University, will be serving the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania through this initiative.
“With this PRIME award of $300,000 the PA Microenterprise Advancement Project will develop comprehensive growth-stage educational and cohort-based programming to assist disadvantaged microentrepreneurs with the next stages of their business and enhance their operational capacity, market reach, and financial sustainability,” said Brett Smith, Lehigh University Small Business Development Center Director. “The Project will consist of general growth-stage training (hybrid and on-demand), sprint workshops, as well as specific cohort programming focused on veterans, agriculture, the trades, and new-to-export businesses.”
With this funding, Shippensburg University will enhance its ability to support veterans and military spouses/partners in South Central Pennsylvania. The university will launch a six-month cohort training program, designed to educate and empower participants with essential business, leadership, and soft skills needed to grow their existing businesses.
“We are thrilled to receive the SBA PRIME grant. By leveraging the university’s expertise, departments, and personnel, this program aims to provide a comprehensive support system for our veterans and their families, equipping them with the tools to thrive in their entrepreneurial ventures. We are excited about the positive impact this initiative will have on both our community and the lives of those who have served our nation.” said Robin Burtner, director of the Small Business Development Center at Shippensburg University.
“I’m looking forward to the work the PA Microenterprise Advancement Project will conduct under this program, providing technical assistance to Pennsylvanian microentrepreneurs as well as helping these small businesses to get the much-needed financing that enables them to establish and expand their businesses,” said U.S. Small Business Administration Eastern Pennsylvania District Director Steve Dixel.
This year’s $7 million PRIME grant awards will provide funding and support to organizations offering training, technical assistance, access to capital, and program development for disadvantaged microentrepreneurs and microenterprise development organizations. Under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, the SBA has placed particular emphasis on organizations that support under-resourced small business owners – including those in rural areas and those that deliver technical assistance in various languages for entrepreneurs who are not proficient in English.
The 2024 PRIME grants range from $83,000 to $400,000 and typically require at least 50 percent in matching funds or in-kind contributions. Grant funds will be made available on September 30, and the project period for each grant is one year.
