On November 19, 2021, Gusto submitted a comment to the Small Business Administration (SBA) to provide feedback regarding the SBA’s FY 2022-2026 Strategic Plan Framework and Enterprise Learning Agenda.
Gusto’s comment provides recommendations on how the SBA’s actions can support traditionally underserved small businesses, including:
- Increasing capital for established programs that have a proven impact in targeted assistance for women and minority-owned small businesses;
- Reducing barriers to access capital, such as using alternative data in underwriting rather than credit score;
- Removing the prohibition on lending to business owners with certain criminal convictions;
- Increasing understanding and resources for marketing of SBA products and training for small businesses to provide more guidance to underserved communities on available loans and products; and
- Increasing partnership and information-sharing with industry groups.
Read the full comment here:
