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1 1 (Updated October 15, 2024)

handle is hein.crs/goverai0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Con i-a Won I Fesedrch Service h ornino I Ieoi I live ta ~ 'e 914 Updated October 15, 2024 The Small Business Administration's Growth Accelerator Fund Competition Small businesses and startups sometimes benefit from assistance growing their companies, including opportunities to raise capital, mentorship, and commercialization help. Accelerators-organizations often operated by experienced businesspeople-provide technical assistance and other services to new entrepreneurs in an effort to meet those needs and support the starting and scaling of businesses. Since 2014, the Small Business Administration (SBA) has administered the Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) to provide financial support for accelerators assisting science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and research and development (R&D)-focused small businesses and startups. The GAFC also targets accelerators that support businesses and/or geographies that traditionally face barriers in obtaining R&D funds and investment capital: businesses owned or led by women, minorities, and veterans, or businesses located in rural areas. Until FY2023, the GAFC provided $50,000 awards to accelerators for operating capital. The SBA now makes GAFC awards in two stages; stage one awards, for $50,000, and stage two awards, for $50,000-$150,000. Purpose The SBA's intent for the GAFC is to help facilitate the success of startups by supporting accelerators that advise such businesses on growing revenue, sourcing outside funding, and avoiding common mistakes. The GAFC's goals include * increasing the pipeline and success of STEM/R&D- focused entrepreneurs and small businesses; * increasing the success of STEM/R&D-focused entrepreneurs in accessing capital and resources to advance their businesses; * incentivizing innovation-focused accelerators to provide equitable access to resources for underserved communities and industries; * catalyzing partnerships and relationships between accelerators to strengthen the national innovation ecosystem; and * connecting both new and established participants in the national innovation ecosystem. The SBA's award announcements have noted SBA's desire for the GAFC to stimulate entrepreneurship outside of traditional coastal technology centers. In discussing GAFC- related legislation, some Members of Congress have noted the GAFC's success in facilitating innovation in regions beyond those long-standing hubs. HiStory The SBA first operated the GAFC in FY2014, after a series of regional events in 2012 that convened over 100 universities and accelerators in discussions about how to work with high-growth entrepreneurs. These events helped lead to the development of the GAFC, which SBA has thus far held in FY2014, FY2015, FY2016, FY2017, FY2019, FY2021, FY2023, and FY2024. Congress has not provided the GAFC with specific statutory authorization. Rather, the program operates as an SBA initiative under authority provided by Section 105 of the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-358), which authorizes federal agencies to administer innovation-related prize competitions. Several bills in recent years, discussed below, attempted to provide statutory authority for the GAFC. Table 1 presents the number of awards and the total dollar amount awarded since the GAFC's inception. From FY2014 to FY2024, the GAFC made 558 awards totaling $32.2 million. Table I. GAFC Awards Given, Total Value of Awards, and Recommended Funding Levels, FY2014-FY2024 Total Awards Recommended Fiscal Number of Amount ($ Funding ($ in Year Awards in millions) millions) 2014 50 $2.50 $2.50 2015 88 $4.40 $4.00 2016 85 $4.25 $1.00 2017 20 $1.00 $1.00 2018 0 $0 $1.00 2019 60 $3.00 $2.00 2020 0 $0 $2.00 2021 84 $4.20 $2.00 2022 0 $0 $3.00 2023 75 $7.25 $10.00 2024 96 $5.60 $9.00 Sources: SBA, Congressional Budget Justification and Annual Performance Report, various years, and explanatory statements from various appropriations bills.

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