CalOSBA Awarded $10 Million from the U.S. Department of the Treasury to Help Small Businesses Grow and Hire

Funding from Biden-Harris Administration will expand technical assistance to small businesses that operate in the innovation economy or contract with government agencies.

SACRAMENTO, CA – Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury) announced its award of $10 million to the California Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) for the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) Investing in America Small Business Opportunity Program (SBOP).

SBOP, a part of the SSBCI program reauthorized and expanded by the American Rescue Plan Act, is a $75 million nationwide program that provides funding for small business technical assistance support like accounting and legal services, and helps connect underserved and very small businesses in key sectors to private sector investment.

“The Biden-Harris Administration’s economic agenda is focused on continuing the historic small business boom by helping small businesses across the country grow and hire,” said U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. With this new funding, California will be able to provide one-on-one support to help entrepreneurs seize new opportunities created by state investments in infrastructure and innovation.”

“This $10 million investment is a huge win for California’s small businesses, helping them grow, create jobs, and lead in industries that drive our future,” said Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis. “By supporting California’s efforts to provide essential resources, technical support, and access to capital, this investment will ensure our state remains at the forefront of economic growth and innovation, especially for businesses owned by women and people of color. I am grateful for the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to fostering inclusive economic opportunity and supporting the backbone of California’s economy.”

California is one of fourteen SBOP awardees selected nationwide through a competitive process. Treasury selected awardees based on their plans to create innovative, high-impact models of small business technical assistance delivery that demonstrate a vision to improve access to capital for historically overlooked businesses across the nation.

CalOSBA, within the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz), proposed a plan to create the new Procurement & Innovation Capital Leadership for Entrepreneurs (PINNACLE) program.

“CalOSBA is honored and excited to be part of the Treasury’s SBOP rollout,” said CalOSBA Director Tara Lynn Gray “The U.S. Treasury is already supporting our technical assistance network to democratize access to capital and increase the loan readiness of underserved Main Street businesses. Now, the PINNACLE program will layer on services aimed at businesses within our Accelerate CA Innovation Hubs, as well as those seeking to participate in state and federal agency contracts. This funding will help us continue to diversify California’s innovation economy and increase small business participation in state contracting.”

PINNACLE will build upon the $25.3 million in SSBCI funding already invested in developing CalOSBA’s  technical assistance network, branded for the public as SCALE (Success, Capital Access and Leadership for Entrepreneurs). The PINNACLE proposal addresses three key opportunities:

1. The requirement for all California state agencies to meet or exceed 25% small business participation in their procurement pipelines;
2. California’s announcement of a historically unprecedented $180 billion in infrastructure spending over the next 10 years; and
3. The Accelerate California network of 13 Inclusive Innovation Hubs, which provided matching funds for this proposal and will be direct partners in the delivery of program services.

With this new funding provided through SBOP, CalOSBA plans to provide 5,000 additional business-owners with 1:1 counseling and training. The office also anticipates developing at least 200 training events, and supporting eligible beneficiaries to obtain a capital infusion of $250M in total capital through a combination of non-dilutive capital, bonding capital, debt capital, as well as angel and venture capital.

• CalOSBA will announce additional details about the PINNACLE program roll-out by mid-November 2024.

About GO-Biz
The Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development(GO-Biz) serves as the State of California’s leader for job growth and economic development efforts. GO-Biz offers a range of services to business owners including: attraction, retention and expansion services, site selection, permit streamlining, clearing of regulatory hurdles, small business assistance, international trade development, assistance with state government, and much more. For more information visit the GO-Biz website.

About CalOSBA
The Office of the Small Business Advocate (CalOSBA) helps support economic growth and innovation by working to ensure that California’s small businesses and entrepreneurs have the information, tools and resources they need to plan, launch, manage and grow their businesses successfully and be resilient. The CalOSBA serves to elevate their voices in state government and to advocate on their behalf to help ensure all aspiring and current small business owners and entrepreneurs are provided with the opportunity to access capital, access markets, and connect to the networks and resources they need to succeed. For more information visit the website.

Sara Curtis
Chief of Staff
Email Sara, HERE