President Joe Biden appointed Vercie Lark as the new Small Business Administration Region 7 administrator in February and he directs SBA programs and services in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska.
“My key goal for the SBA in the Region 7 Great Plains states is to increase access to capital for micro and small business owners in inner cities, rural communities, small towns, and farmers,” Lark told The St. Louis American.
“There are specific programs and changes to programs the SBA has made to support this goal”
The SBA offers micro loans available up to $50,000, and SBA Community Advantage Loans recently increased from $250,000 to $350,000 to provide more capital for eligible small businesses owners, according to Lark.
In addition, federal contracting set aside goals for federal agencies were increased to 15% by 2026 for small/disadvantaged businesses, “which will add billions of dollars in future revenue growth opportunities for business owners who decide to be suppliers of goods and services to the federal government,” Lark said.
“I want to build on the new connections we made during the pandemic and use those to help train and finance the dreams of many more aspiring and existing small owners in communities across our region.”
Lark recently retired from DST Systems of Kansas City where he served as an executive vice president and head of U.S. Financial Services. He led a billion-dollar line of business that served finance, banking, brokerage, and retirement investment industries.
SBA celebrated Women’s history month last month, and Lark said it SBA has expanded the number of Women’s Business Centers to over 150 across the country to provide greater access to training, mentoring, and advice to the fastest growing small business segment.
The SBA also launched “one of the most critical achievements of 2021, the historic $100 million Community Navigator Pilot Program.”
“This Biden-Harris Administration initiative leverages a hyperlocal hub-and-spoke approach to extend the reach of timely, accessible, and culturally relevant resources to small businesses. The two-year pilot program is designed to put more SBA knowledgeable resources on the ground in hundreds of new locations to better serve small business owners located small towns, rural and underserved communities.
The Jefferson County Community Action Corporation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve those in need and raising awareness of the challenges of living in poverty, was named a HUB organization in the state of Missouri.
“There’s no need for owners to spend lots of money on training when there’s free high-quality training, counseling and mentoring already available through the SBA’s small business network,” Lark said.
“The SBA continues to provide free and low-cost business training and technical assistance through SCORE, Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs), Women’s Business Centers (WBCs), and our regional Veteran’s Business Center in St. Louis, which serves the entire region.
“Nationally, they provided assistance that enabled small businesses to access more than $44.8 billion in capital infusion, start over 26,000 new businesses, and create and retain more than 2,100,000 jobs, last fiscal year.
Lark said he has heard from business owners and entrepreneurs who benefitted from the Restaurant Revitalization Fund, the Paycheck Protection Program, COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loans, and Shuttered Venue Operators Grants.
“Many of them credit those programs for saving their businesses. There’s more to be done,” Lark said.
“There will be more opportunities for small businesses on the horizon thanks to President Biden’s Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Made in America priorities. The SBA and our local partners will continue to work to make sure our smallest businesses benefit
“I would be remiss if I did not express my thanks and gratitude to the people in the SBA who gave so much of their lives to save and recover thousands of businesses and millions of livelihoods for our fellow Americans during the pandemic.”
The SBA was “transformational for small businesses during the pandemic, providing over $450 billion in critical recovery funding to more than 6 million entrepreneurs,” he said.
“The SBA’s workforce remains committed to ensuring every small business opportunity is afforded to small businesses because this is the key to keeping America’s small businesses resilient in 2022.”
