The Women's Business Centers Improvement Act of 2026 strengthens and expands the Small Business Administration's program to support women entrepreneurs by providing federal grants to organizations that operate women's business centers. These centers offer counseling, training, and assistance in areas like business formation, financial management, marketing, and accessing capital to women who own or want to start small businesses, with particular focus on women who are socially and economically disadvantaged. Eligible organizations receiving grants can include nonprofits, educational institutions, state economic development organizations, and combinations thereof, and grants are structured as initial five-year terms of up to $300,000 annually, followed by unlimited five-year continuation grants at the same rate. The bill requires grant recipients to secure matching funds from non-Federal sources at a one-to-one ratio after the first two years, establishes new accreditation standards for women's business centers, and creates an Assistant Administrator position within the SBA to oversee the program and coordinate with other agencies. The legislation authorizes $31.5 million annually for fiscal years 2026 through 2029, with up to 2.65 percent available for administrative costs in the first year and 2.5 percent thereafter, and mandates annual reporting to Congress on the program's effectiveness, including metrics on participants served, businesses started, jobs created, and capital secured.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.