Small Business Administration’s Manufacturing in America E2G Grant Initiative — IN12726 (August 12, 2026)

Summary

This is a Congressional Research Service Insight, IN12726, dated August 12, 2026, by Adam G. Levin, on the SBA's Manufacturing in America E2G Grant Initiative (MAGI). It states that MAGI will make up to 10 grant awards in FY2026, each worth up to $5 million, to eligible organizations providing management and technical assistance to small manufacturing businesses enrolled in SBA's Empower to Grow (E2G) program. It describes E2G eligibility and says Congress appropriated $3.8 million for E2G/7(j) Technical Assistance for FY2026, while SBA reprogrammed other entrepreneurial development appropriations to fund MAGI awards. It says Congress may assess whether MAGI assistance overlaps with existing programs such as Small Business Development Centers.

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                                                                                             INSIGHTi



Small Business Administration’s (SBA’s)
Manufacturing in America E2G Grant
Initiative

August 12, 2026
In May, the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced a new round of funding for the
Manufacturing in America E2G Grant Initiative (MAGI). The 2026 round expands a program introduced
in 2025 and appears to be part of the Administration’s increased focus on support for small manufacturing
businesses. That effort includes new loan guarantees for certain small manufacturing businesses and a
one-year waiver of some SBA loan fees for certain small manufacturing businesses for FY2026.
According to SBA, MAGI will make up to 10 grant awards in FY2026, each worth up to $5 million. The
awards will go to eligible organizations to provide management and technical assistance to small
manufacturing businesses enrolled in SBA’s Empower to Grow (E2G) program. According to a question-
and-answer document posted by SBA, the agency plans to announce the awards by the end of August.
This Insight provides background and details on MAGI and selected considerations for Congress.


Background
SBA has helped provide management and technical assistance to small businesses for decades. Initially,
SBA directly provided its own management and technical assistance training programs. Over time, SBA
has increasingly relied on third parties to provide that training. SBA refers to these third parties as
resource partners, and SBA funds these entities through grants. SBA stipulates that management and
technical assistance programs be made generally available to all small businesses meeting SBA’s size
standards, including small manufacturing businesses.
SBA’s management and technical assistance programs include E2G, which until 2024 was known as the
7(j) Technical Assistance program. Through resource partners, E2G provides “a wide variety of
management and technical assistance to eligible individuals or concerns to meet their specific needs,
including: (a) counseling and training in the areas of financing, management, accounting, bookkeeping,
marketing, and operation of small business concerns; and (b) the identification and development of new
business opportunities.” To be eligible for E2G, a small business must be:

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    •    located in an area of high unemployment or low income, which is met when the
         unemployment rate in the county in which the business is located is at least 140% of the
         U.S. unemployment rate or the unemployment rate of the county’s state, whichever is
         lower;
    •    owned by low-income individuals, defined as individuals whose families’ taxable income
         for the preceding year did not exceed 150% of the federal poverty level established by the
         U.S. Census Bureau; or
    •    eligible for SBA’s 8(a) contracting assistance program.
Congress appropriated $3.8 million for E2G/7(j) Technical Assistance for FY2026. SBA also
reprogrammed other FY2026 appropriations it received for entrepreneurial development programs (a
category that includes SBA’s other management and technical assistance programs) to fund MAGI
awards. Congress appropriated $330 million for entrepreneurial development programs for FY2026.


Purpose
As noted, the purpose of MAGI awards is to fund entities to provide management and technical assistance
to E2G-enrolled small manufacturing businesses. According to MAGI’s notice of funding opportunity
(NOFO), MAGI is intended to align with SBA’s strategic priorities to “bring manufacturing jobs back to
the United States, and [address] workforce shortages, operational inefficiencies, and limited access to
contract opportunities.” The NOFO does not require MAGI to target assistance to small businesses in
specific manufacturing sectors. MAGI awards are anticipated to have a 12-month period of performance.
In assessing applications, the MAGI NOFO states that SBA sought proposals that:
    •    outlined “innovative workforce development approaches” to the challenges faced by
         E2G-enrolled small manufacturing businesses;
    •    provided “hands-on, in-person training” to E2G-enrolled small manufacturing businesses
         in “key manufacturing industries,” including aerospace, construction equipment, metal
         fabrication, electrical equipment, food processing, medical and precision manufacturing,
         advanced manufacturing, and robotics; and
    •    allowed for the same “hands-on, in-person training” for small businesses in other
         manufacturing sectors in addition to those identified above.


Implementation
The MAGI NOFO states that grant recipients are expected to work with other SBA resource partners and
participants in SBA’s access to capital programs such as the 7(a) loan guaranty program to implement
projects under awards. In addition, SBA does not anticipate MAGI award recipients making any
subawards, and recipients are instead expected to partner together to execute their proposals. Unlike many
SBA entrepreneurial development programs, there is no matching requirement for MAGI awards.


Considerations for Congress
Congress may consider whether SBA’s focus on assisting small manufacturing businesses is an effective
or equitable use of E2G’s resources. The MAGI NOFO cites 15 U.S.C. §636(j)—E2G’s authorizing
statute—as MAGI’s authorization. That statute authorizes SBA to fund technical assistance services for
small businesses, with “special attention to small businesses located in areas of high concentration of
unemployed or low-income individuals” and to small businesses eligible for the 8(a) program. However,
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the statute does not identify particular industries for specific assistance. While the MAGI NOFO does
state that award recipients may provide services only to small businesses enrolled in E2G, Congress may
assess whether SBA should provide targeted assistance to small manufacturing businesses within E2G.
More broadly, Congress may assess whether MAGI assistance overlaps with existing SBA management
and technical assistance programs, such as Small Business Development Centers. These programs
generally offer assistance to small businesses in most industries, including manufacturing. Congress has
previously questioned whether there is duplication among SBA’s management and technical assistance
programs. While MAGI award recipients are expected to work with other SBA resource partners—which
may help mitigate duplication—this may still present Congress with an oversight issue.
Congress may also consider SBA’s reprogramming of entrepreneurial development funds for MAGI in
light of broader discussion on SBA funding. The Trump Administration’s FY2027 SBA budget request
stated that it “eliminates a number of SBA programs that waste taxpayer dollars on failed business
counseling and training programs” and requested $21.4 million total for entrepreneurial development
programs, all of which would fund SBA’s veterans outreach programs. That amount would be a decrease
from $330 million in FY2026 appropriations for those programs. As Congress considers FY2027 SBA
funding, it may consider whether to allow or forbid reprogramming of appropriated funds.


Author Information

Adam G. Levin
Analyst in Economic Development Policy




Disclaimer
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