Senator Jacky Rosen hosts roundtable highlighting rural small businesses

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - Senator Jacky Rosen hosted a roundtable discussion highlighting the agreement between the U.S. Department of Agriculture & the Small Business Administration.

This comes just as an agreement was made between the two agencies to support rural small businesses. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed November 20, is meant to show that the USDA and SBA are committing to increase investments in small and underserved communities to help grow the rural economy and create good-paying jobs for people nationwide.

Senator Rosen was joined by Administrator Isabel Guzman, Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Xochitl Torres Small, Congressman Mark Amodei, UNR President Brian Sandoval, as well as local small business owners. Thanks to the agreement between the SBA and USDA, the rural business development grant program was created to provide funding for technical assistance and training to create jobs and expand access to new and better market opportunities for people in rural Nevada.

“Rural small businesses strengthen local economies - creating jobs and serving communities,” SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said. “SBA’s partnership with USDA will build upon the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to investing in underserved rural Americans and providing the needed resources to help them start and grow their businesses to advance our economy and global competitiveness.”

As part of the MOU, the agencies may work together to:

Provide joint trainings, technical assistance and mentorship opportunities for rural small business owners and entrepreneurs.
Help agricultural producers and small businesses identify ways to export their products around the world.
Expand collaboration between USDA’s Rural Partners Network and SBA’s Resource Partners Network.
Cross-promote programs that support rural businesses and socially disadvantaged communities, and more.