SBA Administrator Guzman Travels to Kansas for Investing in America Tour and Small Business Visits

On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman , head of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA)  and the voice in President Biden’s Cabinet for America’s more than 34 million small businesses, traveled to Kansas City, Missouri and De Soto, Kansas to participate in the Association of Women’s Business Centers (AWBC) Leadership Conference, highlight the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investments in America, and visit a local childcare center.

Administrator Guzman began her day at KC Live! where the Association of Women’s Business Centers hosted their annual Leadership Conference. During a fireside chat with AWBC CEO Corrine Goble, Administrator Guzman highlighted how the SBA has grown its network of Women’s Business Centers to a historic 152 centers across the nation. Administrator Guzman also shared that, under the Biden-Harris Administration, the SBA has increased funding for its Office of Women’s Business Ownership by 20%.

After concluding her discussion with Ms. Goble, Administrator Guzman traveled to De Soto, Kansas where she participated in a roundtable discussion about recent investments in the community alongside De Soto Mayor Rick Walker and other local leaders. The roundtable centered on the new Panasonic battery plant coming to De Soto in 2025, and how small business subcontractors can capitalize on this transformative opportunity.

Administrator Guzman then traveled to Happy Campers Montessori School where she met director and owner Christina Rose. Ms. Rose provided Administrator Guzman with a tour of her facility and shared how the school has been working with the local Women’s Business Center on a day care initiative.

More than 95% of all childcare providers are small businesses. Employers lose $23 billion a year to childcare challenges faced by employees, and more than 70% of working caregivers report that better childcare would increase their productivity.