Harris announces $125M funding for small businesses in underserved communities

Vice President Harris announced Friday that the administration would invest $125 million to help small businesses in underserved communities.

The investment will go to 43 small business accelerators, chosen because they support entrepreneurs specifically in underserved communities.

“As Bidenomics continues to demonstrate, when we invest in the dreams, the ambitions of small business owners and entrepreneurs, it creates opportunity and prosperity for us all,” Harris said during remarks in Washington, D.C.

Harris said part of the funding will “help connect enterprisers and small business owners with the support and the guidance they need to break into the clean energy economy.”

The 43 organizations are the winners of a $125 million Capital Readiness Program (CRP) awards competition, which is funded by the American Rescue Plan that President Biden signed into law early in the administration.

Harris said that in the first two years of the Biden administration, more entrepreneurs have applied to start small businesses than in any other two-year stint in history.

“When President Biden and I took office, we decided to invest in the working people of America,” Harris said. “To make sure that every person in America, not just the wealthy or well-connected, have the opportunity to thrive. All that, ladies and gentleman and everyone else, that is called Bidenomics.”

She also touted the jobs numbers Friday as evidence that “Bidenomics is working.”

The U.S. added 187,000 jobs in July, and unemployment dropped to 3.5 percent, according to data released Friday.

“This growth is not only being felt on Wall Street but more importantly, it is being felt on Main Street, especially by people who start and own small businesses,” Harris said.