WASHINGTON — The U.S. Small Business Administration said it will double the federal government’s contracting goal for veteran-owned small businesses to 10% and loosen down-payment rules for veterans buying existing companies, part of a package of announcements tied to National Veterans Small Business Week, which runs Nov. 9-13.
SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler said the agency wants to help veteran entrepreneurs “plan, start, and grow their small businesses,” and the agency described the moves as support for veteran-owned suppliers in the defense industrial base.
Editor’s note: The Trump administration is frequently dishonest, and has been known to lie about things great and small.
Contracting goal
Under goals the SBA set for federal agencies for fiscal year 2027, the combined target for prime contracts and subcontracts going to veteran-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned small businesses rises from 5% to 10%. Goals for small disadvantaged businesses and women-owned small businesses remain at 5%, and the HUBZone goal stays at 3%, according to the agency.
The SBA said agencies awarded $32.5 billion in federal prime contracts to service-disabled veteran-owned firms in fiscal 2025, and that it approved more than 18,000 veteran contracting certifications in fiscal 2026. The agency also attributed a backlog of more than 2,700 certification applications to the previous administration.
“From suppliers near Fort Drum, Fort Hamilton, and the Watervliet Arsenal to manufacturers supporting Picatinny Arsenal and Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, veteran-owned small businesses across our region are essential to America’s defense industrial base,” said Matt Coleman, the SBA regional administrator who oversees New York and New Jersey.
Loans for business purchases
Beginning on Veterans Day and continuing through fiscal 2027, veterans who buy an existing small business with a 7(a) loan may raise the entire required equity contribution — at least 10% of total project costs — from permitted outside sources such as seller standby notes or investor capital. Previously, those outside sources could cover no more than half of that amount, the SBA said.
The agency cited its Office of Advocacy’s finding that 51% of owners of businesses with employees are 55 or older. Coleman said the change would help veterans take over businesses from retiring owners “from Buffalo to Bayonne, Syracuse to Secaucus, Montauk to Morristown.”
Drone pilot program
The SBA also announced a $500,000 national pilot with the nonprofit VetsinTech to train and finance veteran founders in the drone and dual-use aerospace industry. The program aims to reach 1,000 military-connected people, with about 100 early-stage ventures chosen for regional cohorts and 25 established companies receiving help to scale, according to the agency. Initial cohorts are planned for California, Texas, Florida and the Washington, D.C., area.
“This generation of warfighters understands unmanned systems from the operational side,” said Katherine Webster, CEO of VetsinTech.
According to the SBA, more than 1.8 million veteran-owned small businesses employ about 4 million workers nationwide. The agency said it approved more than 2,800 loans totaling $1.32 billion to veteran-owned businesses in fiscal 2026.
This report is based on press releases from the U.S. Small Business Administration.
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