Business and Community Initiatives and Capital Access in the United States

Business and Community Initiatives
The Office of Business and Community Initiatives (OBCI) develops and
cosponsors counseling, education, training, and information resources for
small businesses. It has partnered with the private sector to promote entrepreneurial
development. OBCI directs the national program of the Service Corps of Retired
Executives (SCORE), a resource partner of SBA. SCORE provides free counseling,
mentoring, training seminars, and specialized assistance to veterans and
active military personnel. For more information, visit www.score.org. OBCI
also offers young entrepreneurs a teenbusiness site at www.sba.gov/teens.

The Office of International Visitors briefs foreign delegations, business
organizations, and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)
on the SBA model.

In addition to education and training events, SBA offers an online
management series on business growth and sustainability at www.sba.gov/library/pubs.

For further information, contact the Office of Business and Community Initiatives. Phone,
202–205–6665.

Capital Access

The Office of the Associate Administrator for Capital Access provides overall direction for
SBA’s financial programs. It offers a comprehensive array of debt and equity
programs for startup and expanding businesses. In addition to lending to
businesses that sell their products and services domestically, the Office provides
financial assistance programs for smallbusiness exporters in the form of loan
programs and technical assistance.

The Office also oversees a surety bond guarantee program for small-business
contractors and SBA’s lender oversight programs.

For further information, contact the Office of Capital Access. Phone, 202–205–6657.