ICYMI: Vice President Harris Highlighted the Administration's Commitment to Uplifting Small Business

The President and the Vice President believe that all entrepreneurs—no matter where they live or who they are—deserve the opportunity to succeed and thrive. Last week, the Vice President visited Greenville, Mississippi, where she focused on the importance of building a more inclusive and equitable economy. Prior to delivering remarks, the Vice President visited a local small business, Joycee's Fabrics and Sewing Center, where she heard directly from entrepreneur Joyce Johnson about the importance of having access to capital to launch a business and the role of community lenders providing this capital and other resources.

Earlier in the week, the Vice President announced impactful reforms to the Small Business Administration's Community Advantage (CA) loan program, a key tool for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Community Development Companies (CDCs), microlenders and other critical mission-based lending partners, that prioritize equitable access to capital for low-income borrowers and those from underserved communities.

Read more below:

Clarion Ledger: Vice President Kamala Harris visits Greenville in support of small businesses
[Ross Reily, 4/1/2022]

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Greenville on Friday to tout President Joe Biden's plan for investing in America's small businesses and communities. Greenville, a city of 27,000 in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, has suffered from a shrinking economy for decades and has worked to build back its downtown and other areas over the past 15 years.

Residents turned out in droves as people lined the streets and highways with signs and balloons to cheer for the vice president as her motorcade traveled from Mid-Delta Regional Airport into town.

WCBI (CBS): Vice President Kamala Harris visits Mississippi
[Stephanie Poole, 4/1/2022]

Vice President Kamala Harris is traveling the country to highlight the Biden-Harris Administration's commitment to supporting America's small businesses.
The VP believes this is the starting point to building a better and prosperous future for entrepreneurs, especially for small businesses in Mississippi.

"I always believe that people like Ms. Johnson are business leaders and civic leaders and community leaders," said Vice President Kamala Harris.

Delta Democrat-Times: VP Harris Highlights Administration's Commitment to Small Businesses During Visit to Greenville
[Jasmine Stevenson, 4/2/2022]

An unprecedented moment unfolded in the Mississippi Delta Friday at E.E. Bass Cultural Arts Center as the first black male mayor of the City of Greenville welcomed the first black vice president of the United States. Vice President Harris began her address to the audience by reaffirming the significance of a small business such as Joycee's.

"I know what it means to have a place like that in a community where you can go and where families go and where it is intergenerational in terms of the families that are impacted by the work that happens in places like that," she said before thanking Johnson for allowing her to visit.

Washington Post: Harris hails $4.7 billion corporate pledge for D.C.-area minority firms
[Teo Armus, 3/30/22]

Some of the biggest corporate power players in the D.C. region are pledging billions of dollars to benefit minority-owned businesses in the area — a move that Vice President Harris on Wednesday touted as a model for metro areas nationwide. […]

"The role modeling you are doing will benefit people around the country," she told partnership members and local business leaders Wednesday. "Our collective goal is to create an economy in which every person, wherever they live, has the opportunity to succeed and to thrive."

CNBC: Vice President Kamala Harris set to tout corporate giants' $4.7 billion pledge to minority-owned businesses based near Washington D.C.
[Brian Schwartz, 3/29/22]

Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday will join a group that includes leaders of corporate giants to promote a $4.7 billion commitment to boosting minority-owned businesses and underrepresented communities in Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas. […]

The gathering marks a new step by both corporate leaders and the Biden administration to aid minority-owned companies. Businesses and public officials made a wave of pledges to help communities of color after a racial justice reckoning sparked by the 2020 murder of George Floyd, and followed through on them with varying degrees of success.

PBS News Hour: WATCH: Vice President Harris remarks on major investment to support minority-owned businesses
[News Desk, 3/3/22]

Vice President Kamala Harris gave remarks at Howard University Wednesday on a new major investment to support minority-owned businesses. […]

Harris introduced several improvements to the Community Advantage program as part of the new investment. […]

The Community Advantage is a pilot loan program introduced by the Small Business Administration that originally began in 2011. At the event on Wednesday, Harris announced that the program has been extended to 2024.

Axios: $4.7 billion to make D.C.-area business more diverse
[Mike Allen, 3/29/22]

Vice President Harris will return Wednesday to her alma mater, Howard University, for a Greater Washington Partnership announcement of $4.7 billion in commitments over five years to increase the diversity of Capital Region businesses and workers. […]

Harris will deliver remarks on small business. She'll be joined by Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Small Business Administration head Isabel Guzman.

Associated Press: Harris announces steps to advance 'inclusive growth' for small businesses
[Staff, 3/30/22]

Vice President Kamala Harris and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo were expected to attend an event Wednesday focusing on helping small businesses. Greater Washington Partnership was to announce a $4.7 billion commitment to advancing inclusive growth in the region. Small Business Administration Administrator Isabella Guzman was also expected to attend.

Washington Informer: VP Harris Praises $4.7 Billion Program for Minority Businesses
[James Wright Jr, 3/30/22]

Vice President Kamala Harris and members of President Biden's Cabinet and leaders of the Greater Washington Partnership announced at Howard University's Cramton Auditorium on Wednesday a five-year, $4.7 billion initiative to support disadvantaged communities and minority businesses. Harris, a 1986 graduate of Howard, expressed joy for being on the campus and for the initiative that she supports.

"This is an institution that, since its founding, has worked to advance, as we are doing today, inclusion, growth, and equity in our country," the vice president said. "I believe America as a nation is driven by the ambition and aspirations of her people. Our economy is therefore driven by ambition and aspiration of our small businesses."

The Dig: Vice President Kamala Harris Returns to Howard University to Tout Small Business Investments
[Staff, 3/30/22]

Vice President Harris, who has led in the White House on helping small businesses in underserved communities, delivered remarks and shared ways that the Biden-Harris administration is supporting small business growth. The Greater Washington Partnership investments are designed to lift underserved communities and minority businesses from Richmond to Baltimore.

"When small business owners have the support, they drive innovation, inspire innovation and grow our entire economy," Harris said. "Let us continue to work together to address the inequities that stand in the way of the ambitions and aspirations of our communities."

Black Enterprise: Offering more capital and extending a loan program are among new SBA reforms to assist underserved entrepreneurs
[Jeffrey McKinney, 3/31/22]

Vice President Kamala Harris and SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman have announced reforms to the federal agency's Community Advantage (CA) Pilot Loan Program that could provide more capital and other resources to underserved business owners. The improvements include extending the program length by two years, ending a new lender moratorium. and lifting loan caps for borrowers, per a news release. Harris and Guzman made the announcement at a White House event at Howard University. […]

The enhancements are made to the U.S. Small Business Administration CA (pilot) program. The agency reports the program is a key Small Business Administration tool for Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Community Development Companies (CDCs), microlenders, and other lenders that basically provide fair access to capital for low-income borrowers and those from underserved communities.