Home » About SBA

About SBA

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is dedicated to helping small business owners and entrepreneurs pursue the American Dream.

Created in 1953 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the SBA was founded in the aftermath of World War II in recognition that American strength depends not only on our warfighters at the front lines, but also on our factories, farms, and local workers at home. The agency initially focused on helping returning veterans put their skills to work as small business owners across America’s industrial base and later expanded to support all U.S. entrepreneurs. Today, America’s 36 million small businesses create two out of every three new jobs, contribute nearly half of U.S. GDP, and represent 99 percent of all private businesses in the country.

From the beginning, the SBA’s mission has been clear: to help Americans start, build, and grow small businesses. The agency delivers on this mission through four core services—expanding access to capital, providing expert counseling and training, helping small businesses compete for federal contracting opportunities, and leading disaster recovery efforts for businesses and communities in need.

Under the leadership of Administrator Kelly Loeffler, the SBA is focused on restoring the agency to its core mission: not only supporting American industry and the broader America First agenda, but delivering services to all entrepreneurs with integrity, efficiency, and measurable results. This includes strengthening accountability, improving program performance, and implementing a robust crackdown on fraud to ensure taxpayer dollars are protected. By empowering small businesses, the SBA helps drive innovation, job creation, and economic opportunity in communities across the United States.

Priorities

Capital

Find funding to start or grow your business, including loans, investments, surety bonds and grants.

Counseling

Discover counseling and training resources to help your small business online, as well as live events and local SBA Resource Partners.

Contracting

Grow your small business as a federal contractor and gain access to contracts set-aside for certain small businesses.

Initiatives

Learn how SBA initiatives help small businesses succeed and empower future leaders.

Oversight and Advocacy

Office of Hearings and Appeals

The Office of Hearings and Appeals provides an independent quasi-judicial appeal of certain SBA program decisions,

Office of Inspector General

The Office of Inspector General provides independent oversight to improve the accountability of SBA.

Office of the National Ombudsman

The Office of the National Ombudsman empowers small entities by addressing concerns of uneven and excessive federal regulatory enforcement.

Office of Advocacy

The Office of Advocacy is the independent voice for small business in the federal government.