SBA Administrator visits EMC2 facility in Indianapolis, talks technology
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To Isabel Guzman—the leader of the U.S. Small Business Administration under President Joe Biden—the Emerging Manufacturing Collaboration Center in 16 Tech is the perfect example of small businesses harnessing technology.
Guzman toured the EMC2 space Friday as one stop in her trip to Indianapolis as part of the SBA’s Made in America Tour, and she said the space is what her administration envisions for small business innovation.
“What we’ve seen is a focus, in the Biden-Harris Administration, to invest in America on manufacturing, on innovation, on making it in America,” she said. “Indiana has done an incredible job receiving these key, historic Invest in America grants around manufacturing, around hydrogen, and around tech innovation overall.”
As she toured the coworking and manufacturing space geared toward startups and small companies, Guzman touted the SBA’s record of making technology-focused grants available to small business, such as the Small Business Innovation Research and Technology Transfer grants.
The EMC2 center itself received $3 million from the Indiana Economic Development Corp. when it got online in 2022 as part of a public-private partnership to help small and mid-size businesses develop and test new products. Some of that funding trickled down from SBA grants and IEDC Vice President of Entrepreneurship and Small Businesses David Watkins said the SBA has been one of the IEDC’s best federal partners.
Guzman also saw high school students busy with a hackathon and spoke with Spencer Mae-Croft, whose Rogue Agriculture company is working on making AI drones that can spray farm crops more efficiently.
As she’s toured around the country, Guzman has increasingly seen small businesses make use of AI, something that’s often associated with large corporations, with help writing marketing materials and customer support.
“They’re already taking this on,” Guzman said. “There are studies that show small businesses are not as productive as large businesses largely because of adoption of technology and workforce training challenges. We’ve leaned in to both of those spaces to make sure small businesses can adopt technology and have a level playing field.”
Guzman pointed to the SBA’s Digital Alliance as a space where entrepreneurs can access tools to help.
Beyond small manufacturing incubators like the 16 Tech, Guzman said she’s excited about larger corporations making major investments in Indiana in recent years due to the knock-on effects those major investments have.
“It’s still about strengthening the total economy,” Guzman said. “Those are good paying jobs that small businesses can benefit from; people have money in their pockets. All these investments are having a ripple effect across the economy, locally, wherever they’re happening.”
She added the SBA works to ensure small businesses have a level playing field to compete with their larger counterparts.
During her Indianapolis trip, Guzman also visited the Black-owned businesses Kountry Kitchen and Tea’s Me Cafe, the latter of which is owned by Indiana Fever legend Tamika Catchings.