Small Businesses Get Training Boost from Alabama SBDC

TUSCALOOSA, Ala - With funding from the U.S. Treasury's State Small Business Credit Initiative, the Alabama Small Business Development Center at The University of Alabama launched the AssistAL program to significantly increase its capacity for technical assistance in the form of advising and training to help business owners get the capital they need.

Reauthorized and expanded by the American Rescue Plan, the SSBCI is a nearly $10 billion program to provide capital and technical assistance to promote small business stability, growth and success across the United States.

The SSBCI will assist underserved and rural communities, veterans and others who may face unique challenges in securing loan or equity investment funding. This includes businesses with fewer than 10 employees, which often have less access to sources of capital. Without loan or investment funding, they often rely on personal savings or funds from family and friends.

The AssistAL program will support the LendAL and InvestAL programs within the Innovate Alabama initiative. LendAL partners with private lenders to extend credit to small businesses and entrepreneurs with the aim of fostering growth, innovation and job creation across the state. InvestAL, in conjunction with participating venture capital funds, facilitates parallel and supplemental equity investments in high-growth startups and later-stage growing businesses.

Financial Guidance for Small Business

As the technical assistance partner for Innovate Alabama's SSBCI offerings, the Alabama SBDC will help these business owners assess their readiness for capital and prepare them to apply for financing with participating lenders and venture capital sources. By addressing barriers at the start and throughout the lending process - such as obtaining proper financial documentation, building business acumen and cultivating business banking relationships - very small businesses and those owned by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals will have an increased likelihood of both obtaining capital and successfully managing the capital over time.

"The Alabama SBDC has 44 years of experience providing comprehensive technical support to small businesses.

Bill Cummins,executive state director of the Alabama SBDC

"The Alabama SBDC has 44 years of experience providing comprehensive technical support to small businesses," said Bill Cummins, executive state director of the Alabama SBDC. "Funding for the AssistAL program allows us to expand our personalized guidance and no-fee training to empower the entrepreneurs targeted by this initiative, ensuring they have the tools and access to capital needed to thrive in today's competitive landscape."

Under AssistAL, Cummins said the SBDC will provide targeted training and one-on-one consulting by experienced professional advisors to hundreds of businesses over five years, resulting in a strong pipeline of applications and fundings using a variety of financing vehicles, including the state's SSBCI capital offerings and other public sector financing programs.

"The Alabama SBDC is well positioned to lead the technical assistance component of the SSBCI program in Alabama," said Dan Blakley, associate vice president for economic and business engagement at The University of Alabama. "The SBDC team is a trusted and proven resource in Alabama. We have a long record of supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners in every county, every industry and segment, and in every stage of development."

The Alabama SBDC Network is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Small Business Administration and is hosted by UA's Office for Research and Economic Development. The Alabama SBDC is nationally accredited by the America's SBDC national association, the most comprehensive program of its kind in the United States. The Alabama program serves businesses from all 67 counties, in any industry sector, and at any stage of business development.

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