There is a demand among entrepreneurs to find financing to get their businesses off the ground or to take the next big step in their expansion plan. Across the country, thousands of small businesses are searching for term loans, equipment financing, lines of credit, invoice financing and real estate loans to help them hire and grow.
This is where technology steps in to meet the demand. Online matchmaking services pairing lenders with prospective borrowers already comprise a multibillion dollar industry. Using the power of the Internet, commercial lenders are finding creditworthy small business borrowers, while entrepreneurs are finding loan officers who are ready to talk with them.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is implementing this same matchmaking concept for SBA loan applications. Recently SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet
announced a new SBA initiative called
LINC (Leveraging Information and Networks to Access Capital). This SBA matchmaking service will help entrepreneurs connect with a lender.
The SBA spent months surveying their lending partners to discern what information they need from a prospective borrower. They have developed a simple online form with 20 questions that takes just minutes to fill out. Once completed, the form is blasted out to participating SBA lenders in an applicant’s county, as well as financial institutions with a statewide or national reach.
While a positive “hit” won’t ensure entrepreneurs will receive a loan, it will put them on a fast track because they have been pre-screened. If LINC doesn’t produce an immediate match, entrepreneurs will be directed to their local SBA adviser for additional assistance with their loan application.
The LINC matchmaking tool constitutes a huge step toward giving small business entrepreneurs access to essential sources of capital in all 50 states and the U.S. territories.
SBA is committed to becoming as innovative as the small businesses we serve. In the longer term, they also believe LINC could be modified to facilitate government contracting by connecting eligible small businesses with procurement officers, prime contractors and federal buyers. The future is now, and the SBA is proud to embrace technology to help small businesses access the capital they need to stay strong and dream big.
There is a demand among entrepreneurs to find financing to get their businesses off the ground or to take the next big step in their expansion plan. Across the country, thousands of small businesses are searching for term loans, equipment financing, lines of credit, invoice financing and real estate loans to help them hire and grow.
This is where technology steps in to meet the demand. Online matchmaking services pairing lenders with prospective borrowers already comprise a multibillion dollar industry. Using the power of the Internet, commercial lenders are finding creditworthy small business borrowers, while entrepreneurs are finding loan officers who are ready to talk with them.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is implementing this same matchmaking concept for SBA loan applications. Recently SBA Administrator Maria Contreras-Sweet announced a new SBA initiative called LINC (Leveraging Information and Networks to Access Capital). This SBA matchmaking service will help entrepreneurs connect with a lender.
The SBA spent months surveying their lending partners to discern what information they need from a prospective borrower. They have developed a simple online form with 20 questions that takes just minutes to fill out. Once completed, the form is blasted out to participating SBA lenders in an applicant’s county, as well as financial institutions with a statewide or national reach.
While a positive “hit” won’t ensure entrepreneurs will receive a loan, it will put them on a fast track because they have been pre-screened. If LINC doesn’t produce an immediate match, entrepreneurs will be directed to their local SBA adviser for additional assistance with their loan application.
The LINC matchmaking tool constitutes a huge step toward giving small business entrepreneurs access to essential sources of capital in all 50 states and the U.S. territories.
SBA is committed to becoming as innovative as the small businesses we serve. In the longer term, they also believe LINC could be modified to facilitate government contracting by connecting eligible small businesses with procurement officers, prime contractors and federal buyers. The future is now, and the SBA is proud to embrace technology to help small businesses access the capital they need to stay strong and dream big. 
