Thank you Carla [Garrett] and all members of the Small Business Capital Formation Committee. It’s good to be with you again. I thank you for your continued dedication to small businesses in America. I’d like to note I’m not speaking on behalf of the Commission or the SEC staff.

I would also like to take a moment to welcome Bailey DeVries, the Committee’s new representative from the Small Business Administration.  Bailey, we look forward to working with you.

Today’s agenda addresses timely and critical issues affecting small business owners.

This includes the challenges of accessing financial capital for rural entrepreneurs.

Companies across the country need cost-effective access to capital to grow and scale, regardless of their location.  Currently, access to early-stage capital is uneven.

I am glad the Committee is taking a look at how businesses are being financed in areas of the country where businesses have struggled to access capital, including rural communities.

Dr. Alicia Robb will present her research on the challenges in rural financing, drawing on Commission data and collaborations with our great staff.[1]

Further, our Small Business Advocacy Office recently launched an interactive capital-raising digital hub. The navigator provides helpful insights about how to raise capital based on entrepreneurs’ specific needs. I understand you all will receive a demo of this new tool, and we look forward to your feedback.

Next, I understand you’ll take a deep dive into the Department of the Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative. This program provides $10 billion in funds to state, territory, and Tribal government small business programs. I am pleased that Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Adair Morse will join us today to talk about this initiative. It is an innovative way to bring private and public capital together to help smaller businesses throughout the country.

I look forward to the readouts from today’s meeting on ways we can make the capital markets more accessible for small businesses across our country. Thank you.