What is the SBA and the 7(a) Program?
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) was established in 1953 to provide assistance to Americans who want to start a small business or grow their existing business. The SBA is the nation’s largest single financial backer of small businesses in the United States. Last year, the SBA offered management and technical assistance to more than one million small business owners. The SBA does this through a number of different programs including the 7(a) program. The SBA 7(a) program, which SBLS participates in, provides short- and long-term loans to eligible, credit-worthy, start-up and existing small businesses that cannot obtain financing on reasonable terms through normal lending channels. The SBA provides financial assistance through its participating lenders in the form of loan guaranties, not direct loans. The agency does not provide grants for business start-up or expansion. Loans under the program are available for most business purposes, including purchasing real estate, machin
