SBA launches ‘mini-MBA’ for small businesses

U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), is an organisation based in the US providing support to small business owners and entrepreneurs. This year, the organisation is relaunching its ‘Emerging Leaders’ programme which will provide an education that is designed to replicate a mini-MBA education for leaders of small businesses.

This free executive-level programme will provide intensive education and training to help business owners expand their reach and profitability amid challenging times.

The Emerging Leaders Initiative advanced training series is open to small business owners and executives who have annual revenues of at least $250,000, have been in business for at least three years, and have at least one other employee.

SBA’s Emerging Leaders initiative can be described as a mini-MBA programme that will provide over 100 hours of classroom learning with both virtual and in-person delivery for leaders of small businesses. It also aims to provide the tools to propel the growth of small businesses in the country.

The programme will feature customised training programmes for C-level leaders that will focus on several areas including developing Growth Strategies Plans, Financing, and Access to Capital, Government Contracting, and will also provide mentoring services for company CEOs.

Programme participants will benefit from free entrepreneurship education and training for executives of small businesses provided by the programme, which will in turn create new employment opportunities in the country.

The programme boasts of having a comprehensive curriculum that is developed by SBA and will focus on helping businesses build knowledge and skills by drawing on the experiences of advisors and business leaders in urban communities across the country.

Programme participants will have an opportunity to build a network with experienced coaches and mentors, attend specialised workshops, and develop connections with their peers, city leaders, and the financial community, which will be instrumental to their growth.

Lead economic development specialist with the SBA’s Eastern Pennsylvania District office, Rob Goza said that while the programme will take a significant amount of time to complete, it promises growth for participating businesses.

He adds that since its inception in 2008 the programme has seen businesses obtain very significant growth, “In the last decade, the Emerging Leaders programming has trained more than 4,000 small business owners, helped them create over 7,000 jobs.”

According to Goza, business leaders that successfully completed the merging Leaders programme have generated over $300 million in new financing and secured over $4 billion in government contracts.

He adds that the training provided by this mini-MBA-styled programme often transforms students into job providers.

He explained that through this programme, students can expand their reach geographically and often find themselves able to take advantage of government contracting opportunities with the federal government as well as to expand into business endeavours, including exporting goods.

The associate administrator of the SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development, Allen Gutierrez said that the training has helped businesses across the country reach new heights.

“As small businesses are recovering from the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, SBA will continue to provide key resources to help businesses to grow even stronger and return to prosperity,” Gutierrez said.

The programme is currently offered in more than 60 locations across the country with six new locations announced this year.