A national effort to boost business for LGBT-owned small companies will kick off next week at a training being held in San Francisco.
Maria Contreras-Sweet, administrator of the U.S. Small Business Administration, andΒ David Perry, the SBA’s director of LGBT outreach who is based in Atlanta, are both expected to attend the March 2 event.
The local gathering is the first stop of the LGBT Business Builder National Tour that will include meetings in several other California cities, such as Los Angeles, San Diego, and Sacramento, over the coming months. The SBA is sponsoring the tour in partnership with the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce.
“This is the first national agreement the SBA has had to bring to the field programs for the LGBT community. Our administrator is so enthusiastic about this she is coming out to San Francisco to kick off the event. She requested to do this,” Perry told theΒ Bay Area ReporterΒ in a recent phone interview. “We couldn’t have more support from the head of our agency who is a member of the president’s cabinet.”
Earlier this month the federal agency formalized a co-sponsorship agreement with the national LGBT chamber as it strives to direct more resources toward LGBT-owned small businesses.
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