The amount of money loaned to small businesses in Iowa by the U.S. Small Business Administration rose nearly 20-percent during the just-ended fiscal year, compared to the year before. Dave Lentell, spokesman for the S-B-A office in Des Moines, says loans to Iowa women and minorities also jumped up.Lentell says the number of SBA-backed loans to small business rose 19-percent (increasing from 527 to 627 loans) while the total dollar value of loans was up 20-percent (increasing from 102-million dollars to 121-million). Lentell says the loans are silent victories that are helping Iowa overcome a batch of recent job cuts in the state. The loans created or retained six-thousand-239 jobs in Iowa this year which Lentell says is very rewarding “particularly during a time where economic development and keeping jobs and bringing jobs to Iowa is a very hot topic right now.” S-B-A loans during the previous fiscal year created or retained some 57-hundred jobs statewide. Lentell says many people don’t realize have very significant small businesses are to Iowa’s economy. Nearly all businesses in Iowa are considered small — about 98-percent — or 210-thousand businesses. In the past two fiscal years, loans to small business owned by minorities increased 82-percent from 23 to 42, and loan approvals to women small business owners increased by 14-percent from 114 to 130. While Iowa’s numbers showed marked improvement, the national numbers were even better, as loans overall rose 29-percent from the previous year and 38-percent to minorities.
