tance is made up of three different loan categories: 7(a) General Business Loan, which is most widely used. It provides funds for almost any legitimate business purpose. Certified Development Company Loans (504 Program) provide long term, fixed rate financing at reasonable rates for businesses to grow. Other Special Loan Programs include: Micro loans; Lines of Credit; Contract Loans; Physical Disaster Loans; Direst loans to veterans, Vietnam, disabled and handicapped individuals, etc. Another function of the SBA is Investment Capital. This provides small businesses to have money or capital for growth and finance. The Small Business Investment Capital or SBIC provides the capital. Developed in 1958, the SBIC wanted to fill the gap between venture capitol and the needs of small businesses. There are two types of SBIC's, the regular SBIC and the specialized SBIC. The Procurement Assistance function tries to make sure that small businesses get their fair pay, goods and services from the federal government. Procurement Assistance programs include Prime Contracts Assistance, Natural Resources Assistance, Subcontracting Assistance, COC and PASS programs. The SBA also tries to establish goals for contracting with small disadvantaged businesses. The last area of focus is Disaster Loans Assistance, which comes into play for assistance for non-farm, private sector disaster losses.Most small, independent businesses or individuals starting a business are eligible for SBA assistance. Because the agency is committed to economic development through small business, it strives to help business ventures get started, grow and remain profitable. Many of SBA's clients are new entrepreneurs starting a business for the first time, while others are young, established companies struggling to meet the challenges of growth and change in a competitive business environment.The SBA has more than a hundred offices across the nation and a permanent staff of nearl...
