Houston has been selected to join the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses initiative. The initiative, already in place in several other cities, comes with a $20 million commitment to provide loans to help local small businesses and $5 million in program and capacity-building grants to local partner organizations. Additional grants will be provided to subsidize business education for current small business owners.

Mayor Annise Parker is convening a number of local organizations to manage the program in Houston. Houston Community College will provide business basics at the classroom level and the Greater Houston Partnership will help facilitate access to lending within the community. The University of Houston Small Business Development Center Network will provide technical assistance to small business owners applying for loans and will be the key organization to package the financial assistance.

The Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and Houston Minority Supplier Development Council will host clinics focusing on the most pressing economic development issues for local small businesses.

The program, 10,000 Small Businesses, is a $500 million initiative that will unlock the growth and job-creation potential of 10,000 small businesses across the U.S. through greater access to business education, financial capital and business support services. It is based on the broadly held view of leading experts that a combination of education, capital and support services best addresses the barriers to growth for small businesses. In addition to Houston, it is now operating in New Orleans, New York and Los Angeles and will continue to expand to communities across the country.

Strategy and guidance is provided by the 10,000 Small Businesses Advisory Council, chaired by Lloyd Blankfein, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and Harvard Business School Professor Dr. Michael Porter.

The program is designed for owners of small businesses with limited financial resources, and with few opportunities to otherwise access a business education designed to enhance small business success. Broad characteristics of business owners targeted to participate include, but are not limited to: ownership or co-ownership of a business; business revenues between $150,000 and $4 million in 2010; business in operation for at least two years; at least four employees; operations in economically underserved areas; and a business model that could scale to create more jobs.

Businesses interested in the business portion of the program can apply at: www.hccs.edu/10KSB.

To express interest in a 10,000 Small Businesses loan, please send an email with your name, title, company and full contact information to  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .