United States: Department Of Transportation Launches The Access To Capital Initiative

Key Takeaways:

• On October 17, 2023, in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Department of Transportation announced the formalization of an initiative to encourage access to private capital for Small Disadvantaged Businesses and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises pursuing procurement and contracting opportunities in connection with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
• As part of the initiative, the U.S. Small Business Administration will make available to the Department of Transportation stakeholders their network of Small Business Investment Company related resources and will provide support from its Office of Investment and Innovation to facilitate access to private capital for small businesses. In addition, the Department of Transportation will host various in-person and virtual events to connect small businesses to private capital providers.
• The primary audience for this initiative includes private capital investors, U.S.-based Small Disadvantaged Businesses contracting with state agencies as well as organizations that fall under the Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.

On October 17, 2023, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Department of Transportation (DoT) announced the rollout of the Access to Capital Initiative (ACI), a joint effort between the SBA and DoT to help facilitate meetings and build relationships between Small Disadvantaged Business (SDBs), Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs), and private capital investors.

Through this initiative, the DoT aims to provide small businesses that are owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged individuals with improved access to resources and capital and to connect them with large companies and transportation modal representatives from federal, state, and municipal agencies. As part of the initiative, the SBA will make Small Business Investment Company related resources available to the DoT and will provide support through the SBA Office of Investment and Innovation to facilitate access to private capital for small businesses pursuing contract opportunities resulting from the Infrastructure, Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, to help modernize our country's infrastructure.

The primary goal of the ACI is to encourage meaningful exchanges between SDBs, DBEs, and private capital providers about the fundamentals of capital investments and their inherent interconnectivity. The intended outcome of these engagements for SDBs and DBEs is to increase their understanding of capital uses and access as well as to establish relationships with private capital investors with the goal of increased capital flowing to small businesses through debt or equity investments, allowing the small businesses to scale and grow.

The Access to Capital Initiative seeks to encourage such exchanges through two means. First, the DoT's Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU) will provide in-person interactions through its regional Small Business Transportation Resource Centers, holding various symposiums, technical assistance trainings, and Bonding Education Programs. Second, the OSDBU Procurement Assistance Division will host a virtual platform to help SDBs and DBEs make connections with private capital investors. Through its Connections Market Place, the OSDBU will host monthly webinars, panel discussions, and various other virtual events where small businesses can gain insight into federal contracting with the DoT and network with procurement officials, large prime contractors, and private investors.

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