43
2 SBA programs aim to promote area growth
YOUNGSTOWN
The return of one business program and the continuation of another will provide the area with great economic growth potential, said a U.S. Small Business Administration official.
“These are wonderful opportunities,” said Gil Goldberg, district director of SBA’s Cleveland district office at a Tuesday news conference at Youngstown State University’s Williamson College of Business Administration.
The Youngstown SBA Initiative Program is returning shortly, thanks to $1 million in the city’s budget.
The program is designed to attract and keep small businesses in the city by offering access to money and an SBA loan guarantee.
Businesses provide at least 10 percent of the cost of starting up or expanding, and the city provides 10 percent to 20 percent, up to $100,000, for those who qualify, said T. Sharon Woodberry, the city’s economic development director.
The rest of the money would come from a bank loan with 50 percent to 70 percent of it guaranteed by the SBA if the business defaults.
When the city operated the program between 2001 and 2008, only 2 percent of those receiving loans defaulted, Woodberry said.
During that time, the city gave $3 million to companies, and local banks provided $34 million, creating about 800 jobs, Goldberg said.
“We had a pretty significant success rate,” Woodberry said.
The program was discontinued in 2008 primarily because of the city’s financial struggles, Mayor Charles Sammarone said.
“We figured out a way to come up with $1 million to help businesses come to Youngstown and help existing businesses stay here,” he said.
Also, the SBA’s Emerging Leaders Initiative (e200) is returning for another year to Mahoning County.
The program, taught at the Williamson College, helps qualified business executives develop an expansion strategy for their companies, Goldberg said.
The program, funded by the SBA, “teaches classes in management,” he said. “It’s our equivalent of an MBA [master of business administration] program, with about 100 hours of training. It’s for companies in need of additional help to take things to the next level and increase sales.”
The program had 14 participants last year and 17 this year, Goldberg said.