Office of Investment and Innovation - Small Business Administration

Summary

An SBA webpage for the Office of Investment and Innovation (OII), which the page says administers SBA investment and innovation programs. It states that OII delivers its core programs through the Office of Investment and the Office of Innovation, and it lists Josh Carter as Associate Administrator and Tami Howie as Deputy Associate Administrator (Acting). The page describes the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program, the SBIR and STTR programs, the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, Regional Innovation Clusters and the Supply Chain Acceleration and Logistics Enablement (SCALE) Program. It says the mission of the SBIR program, established in 1982, is to stimulate technological innovation in the U.S. economy.

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Home » About SBA » SBA locations » Headquarters » Office of Investment and Innovation

Office of Investment and Innovation

About our office

SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation (OII) administers SBA investment and innovation programs that expand access to capital, advance technology commercialization, and support high-growth small businesses throughout the business lifecycle.

OII delivers its core programs through two sub-offices.

Office of Investment (“Investment”)

Investment expands access to private capital for small businesses and smaller enterprises by overseeing SBA investment programs that mobilize licensed investment funds, strengthen capital formation, and increase financing for high-growth companies, manufacturers, and other strategic industries. See more about SBA’s Small Business Investment Company (“SBIC”) Program at Investment Capital (SBIC) .

Office of Innovation (“Innovation”)

Innovation leads government-wide policy for the Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (SBIR/STTR) programs across 11 participating federal agencies and nearly 40 agency components, and administers national initiatives—including the Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program, Regional Innovation Clusters (RICs) , and Supply Chain Acceleration and Logistics Enablement (SCALE) Program —to strengthen commercialization, technology transfer, regional capacity, and supply chain readiness for innovative small businesses and startups.

Leadership

- Josh Carter , Associate Administrator
- Tami Howie, Deputy Associate Administrator (Acting)

OII programs

Program overview

The Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program helps mobilize long-term private investment into small businesses through equity, debt, and mezzanine financing.

Since 1958, the SBIC program has proven to be a resilient public-private mechanism that amplifies private investment while advancing key economic and national security objectives.

How the SBIC program works

SBICs are privately owned and managed funds licensed and regulated by the SBA. SBIC funds raise private capital from investors and may access low‑cost SBA‑guaranteed leverage—typically up to 2 times private capital, depending on license type—to amplify investments in eligible small businesses. In recent years, SBICs have deployed billions annually across thousands of financings supporting innovation, job creation, and growth in priority industries.

Established in 1982, the mission of the SBIR program is to stimulate technological innovation in the U.S. economy through the investment of federal research and development (R&D) funds into innovative high-tech US small businesses. The SBIR statute requires federal agencies with extramural R&D budgets over $100 million to set aside a percentage of their annual extramural R&D budget for small businesses.

Established ten years after SBIR, the STTR program is similar, except that STTR awards require small businesses to partner with non-profit scientific and educational research institutions to pursue technological innovation through cooperative research and development. STTR requires federal agencies with extramural budgets exceeding $1 billion to set aside an additional percentage of their annual extramural R&D budget for this work.

The Federal and State Technology (FAST) Partnership Program strengthens the technological competitiveness of small businesses across the country through SBIR/STTR technical and other assistance.

SBA’s Regional Innovation Clusters (RICs) deliver direct support to innovative small businesses and startups across the country. RICs provide services like accelerators, market research, customer discovery, and government and commercial contracting assistance.

If you are a small business seeking services from a RIC or are interested in partnering with a RIC, we invite you to learn more about the current list of individual organizations .

Email RICs@sba.gov for more information on SBA’s Regional Innovation Cluster program.

SBA launched the predecessor to SCALE – Growth Accelerator Fund Competition (GAFC) – in 2014 to stimulate innovation and entrepreneurship nationwide. Since then, over 500 prize awards have been made in all 50 states and three U.S. territories. These awards have funded a wide range of programs in different organizations.

Today, SCALE helps accelerate the capacity of organizations that help small businesses grow in critical industries. Through competitive awards, SCALE expands access to technical assistance, industry partnerships, and commercialization support that enable small businesses to scale production, strengthen domestic supply chains, and compete in strategic markets.

Visit America’s Seed Fund for more information.

Email accelerators@sba.gov for more information on the Supply Chain Acceleration and Logistics Enablement program.

Contact us

Office of Investment and Innovation 409 3rd St. SW, Suite 6300 Washington, DC 20416

Contact us

Office of Investment and Innovation 409 3rd St. SW, Suite 6300 Washington, DC 20416

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