DOD and SBA Launch the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology (SBICCT) Initiative
Strategic Balancing Initiative
SUMMARY
The U.S. government continues its push to create access to government-backed financing to reduce risk for investing in emerging technologies. On Friday, September 29, 2023, the Department of Defense (DOD) and Small Business Administration (SBA) announced the launch of the Small Business Investment Company Critical Technology (SBICCT) Initiative. This will pair private capital with federally-guaranteed loans in a program executed jointly by the DoD’s Office of Strategic Capital (OSC) and the SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation (OII). Per the Investment Policy Statement (IPS), emphasis will be placed on investment into the following:
- Enabling technologies: Advancing component technologies with broad effects across technology areas.
- Enhancing U.S. competitiveness: Creating advantages in manufacturing, strengthening market positions, and intellectual property development.
- Patient capital: Investing in opportunities that require patient capital to overcome commercialization and scale challenges (i.e., capital-intensive hardware-based technologies.