In recent months, SBA staff has met with hundreds of lenders around the country to review their strategies and portfolio quality, and to encourage their use of SBA products, soliciting feedback on their problems and how SBA can improve its products and services. In response, last year SBA launched Small/Rural Lender Advantage to help small and rural lenders by streamlining the loan process so they can better reach underserved markets. SBA has also modernized its programs to make the agency a better partner for lenders. It centralized its loan process from 68 sites to six, a change long requested by lenders, to standardize procedures, upgrade technology and cut turnaround times. Since 2006, 7(a) loan processing times have fallen by more than 50 percent. In 2007, SBA took 279 days on average to pay lenders their guaranties; today it's less than 25 days for correct loan packages.

The current Administration also freed the program from volume limitations that caused program shutdowns in 2002 and 2004 by funding the program through modest fees and eliminating its $120 million annual subsidy. Today, lenders don’t worry about the program shutting down late in the year, enabling them to market it more vigorously. SBA has also modernized its processes and technology.  Last year, SBA updated and simplified its program rule book from over 1,000 pages to 400 pages and made it searchable online. The agency also upgraded its technology systems, allowing lending partners to service SBA loans electronically.

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WASHINGTON – September 23, 2008 – Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), a not for profit public policy organization and the nation’s largest bipartisan women’s business group, today announced a national partnership with American Express OPEN, the nation's leading issuer of payment card products and lines of credit for small business owners, to launch "Give Me 5: Education and Access for Women in Federal Contracts." The national pro-gram is designed to educate women business owners on how to apply for and secure federal procurement opportunities.

Give Me 5 derives its name from The Equity in Contracting for Women Act (2000), which stipulates that federal contracting officers award 5% of all contracts to women-owned businesses. With women presently receiving 3.4% of federal contract dollars1, Give Me 5 aims to in-crease the representation of women-owned businesses that win government contracts by providing resources and information to make it easier for women to register their businesses with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR), a requirement to gain eligibility to apply for federal contracts.  "Federal government contracts represent an enormous growth opportunity for women entrepreneurs. We believe that increasing women business owners’ access to federal contracts can help increase revenues for women business owners by billions each year," said Barbara Kasoff, president and chief operating officer of WIPP. "Working with OPEN, WIPP is committed to help ensure women across industries see government contracts as a growth opportunity."  Specifically, women business owners could gain more than $5 billion in annual revenues by reaching the 5% contracting goal, according to a statement issued by the U.S. House of Representatives Small Business Commit-tee in March 2007.

"Women business owners should have a greater share of government contracts and our partnership with WIPP is intended to make that a reality," said Susan Sobbott, president of American Express OPEN. "Women-owned businesses are a driving force in the national economy, generating $2 trillion in sales and employing 13 million people.2 However, only 67,000 of the 10.1 million women-owned firms are registered on the CCR and eligible to apply for federal contracts. Give Me Five will help educate and engage women in the contracting process to help substantially fuel their business growth."  OPEN’s partnership with WIPP is the latest example of its advocacy on behalf of women business owners and their growth. Another key effort is The Make Mine a Mil-lion $ Business (M3) program, which was launched in conjunction with Count Me In for Women’s Economic Independence in 2005 to help post-start-up, women-owned businesses exceed $1 million in revenues.  One success story highlighting the growth opportunities government contracts can provide is Garnett Newcombe, CEO of Human Potential Consultants, LLC, who used the M3 program to gain confidence and competence to succeed when applying for government contracts. As a business owner with less than $400,000 in revenue prior to joining the M3 community in 2006, Newcombe has since tapped government contracts and generated $18 million in contract commitments.

"Women business owners often have an uphill battle in securing multi-million dollar opportunities – especially government contracts. The first federal application can be a daunting experience, but I learned firsthand that a successful bid can make all the difference to a growing business," Newcombe said. "As a group, we need to take advantage of the resources that are available to help level the playing field and speed our own success."  Through a blend of seminars, events and online re-sources, the Give Me 5SM initiative can help women understand key steps they must take to prepare to apply for federal contracts, including registering a business with the CCR, certifying a business as woman-owned, identifying contracting opportunities and writing solid proposals.  Through the program, OPEN and WIPP plan to educate as many as 100,000 women per year on the opportunities available from the federal government and enroll up to 5,000 women per year on the CCR.

About Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP)  -  Women Impacting Public Policy is a national bi-partisan group comprising over half a million members. The non-profit organization is the public policy voice for 45 national Women in Business groups and is The Voice for Women in Business in Our Nation’s Capital. WIPP strengthens its members’ sphere of influence in the legislative process, creates economic opportunities for members and builds alliances with other small business organizations. Visit http://www.wipp.org.

About American Express OPENSM - American Express OPEN is dedicated to the success of small business owners and their companies. OPEN sup-ports business owners with exceptional service. With tailored products and services, the team delivers purchasing power, flexibility, control and rewards to help customers run their business. Specifically, business owner customers can leverage an enhanced set of products, tools, services and savings, including charge and credit cards, convenient access to working capital, robust online account management capabilities and savings on business services from an expanded lineup of partners. To obtain more information about OPEN, visit OPEN.com, or call 1-800-NOW-OPEN to apply for a card or loan. Terms and conditions apply.  American Express Company www.americanexpress.com is a leading global payments, network and travel company founded in 1850.

1According to the Small Business Administration (SBA) figures for fiscal year 2006.

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