“This innovative initiative is designed to accelerate the growth of companies that are poised for sustained expansion,” said SBA Georgia District Director Terri Denison. “The local initiative will focus on small, poised-for-growth inner-city companies with potential for job creation.”

The formal announcement was held at Atlanta City Hall at a 2 p.m. media conference hosted by Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin. SBA Regional Administrator Nuby Fowler also took part in the media event along with initiative cosponsors, the Atlanta Development Authority and the Atlanta Workforce Development Agency.  Atlanta is one of 11 designated cities where the program is being launched. The others are Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Memphis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Albuquerque, New Orleans, Des Moines and Oakland.

Research shows that small firms with fewer than 20 employees created 80 percent of the net new jobs in the economy from 1990 to 2003.

Denison said the Atlanta Emerging 200 initiative will begin to prepare 20 high potential companies for their next phase of growth. “This is a wonderful opportunity to connect the SBA’s business development resources with the City of Atlanta’s larger economic development efforts in the inner city.”  

The e200 initiative will enable top executives from the 20 companies to participate in an intensive and comprehensive curriculum. The focus will be on developing growth strategies (3-5 year plans, new markets) access to new capital to fuel growth; mentoring and other training to target potential contracts in the local and federal government arena. Participants also will have the opportunity to  develop new connections with banks and other small business lenders.  

Engaging the local network of business resources that is already in place in each city is a critical component of  the e200 program. Consequently, the Georgia District Office will be involved in assembling community partners, including state/local government, technical assistance partners,   and capital providers.

According to the SBA’s Office of Advocacy, State of the Inner City Economy, “small businesses in inner cities added nearly three times the number of new jobs than larger companies between 1995 and 2002".  The Office of Advocacy study may be found at http://www.sba.gov/advo/research/rs260tot.pdf .

All details on where and how to register for the e200 Initiative will be available through the SBA Georgia District Office. Please phone 404/331-0100, ext. 607 or ext. 614. Time requirements of participants will be approximately 60-80 hours over the course of several months. There will be no cost to the business participants.