Political Quotes

“Mr. President, today I am introducing the Unlocking Opportunities in Emerging Markets Act, which establishes an Office of Emerging Markets (OEM) within the Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Capital Access to ensure that SBA's access to capital initiatives address the specific needs of entrepreneurs in underserved domestic emerging markets. Capital is the lifeblood of small businesses, but for women, minorities, veterans and other underserved entrepreneurs, access to capital remains the key roadblock to owning and operating a successful business. The challenges that underserved entrepreneurs face are historic and pervasive with minority and women entrepreneurs, for example, having less wealth from which to fund new businesses. Black families have $17,150 in wealth and Hispanic families have $20,720 in wealth, while White families have $171,000 in wealth. Similarly, women have $3 in wealth for every $10 men have. These historical barriers are compounded by systemic inequality in the capital markets. Minority-owned business are two to three times more likely to be denied credit; more likely to avoid applying for loans, based on the belief that they will be turned down; and more likely to receive smaller loans and pay higher interest rates on the loans that they do receive. Rural businesses owners often face an uphill battle to secure funding for their startups.…”