The Iowa-based offices of the U.S. Small Business Administration are reporting a significant boost in loans made to Iowa entrepreneurs in the fiscal year that ended September 30th.
SBA spokesman Dave Lentell, at the agency’s Iowa district office, says it’s their mission to get capital into the hands of small business owners across the state who need it.
“The SBA approved 484 guaranteed loans in Iowa, totalling $197.3 million,” Lentell says. “That’s a 9% increase in numbers from Fiscal Year 2015 and a 46% increase in dollars.”
The number of small business loans made by the SBA rises annually at the national level, but with a relatively small population like Iowa’s, the state numbers don’t always hit new peaks every year.
“Here in Iowa, it tends to fluctuate a little bit but for the last two years, our numbers have been slightly up,” Lentell says. “We attribute that to our increased efforts here in the state to better educate and inform small businesses on SBA programs and services.”
The report says the 484 loans approved during the fiscal year created nearly 2,500 jobs in Iowa and retained another 3,400.
“The small business community here in Iowa is a very strong one. Over 98% of all businesses in the state are considered small. They are the engine that drives the economy,” Lentell says. “The important message is that SBA programs and services, including our financial programs, are here to help people start, grow and expand their own small businesses.”
The SBA has offices in Des Moines and Cedar Rapids and is available round-the-clock at www.sba.gov/ia
