It is a little known that the complicated application process of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) discourages many Chinese business owners from seeking assistance.

From July 1 to July 15 the SBA will conduct outreach to small business owners in Chinatown and Flushing. It will send out bilingual staffs to distribute flyers and other advertising products written in Chinese and other languages on the streets. Some of the staffs will also approach the businesses directly to understand the merchants’ needs and to introduce them to the SBA’s loan services.

On June 23, Jose R. Sifontes, the newly appointed Regional Director, visited Chinatown and met with Chinese businessmen. He said that he hoped to strengthen ties with the Chinese communities and to make sure the loan and strategy services would further meet the demands of these businessmen. A number of Chinese businessmen complained that the paper work and application process for applying for loans was too long and complicated. The waiting period was also too long. Sifontes responded that there was an SBA Express service that was more suited to an average merchant and entrepreneur.

SBA’s financial group was currently targeting banks to explain SBA services to better prepare banks to provide loans and information to merchants.

Sifontes pointed out that this year’s demand for loans was greater than last year’s. Last year, the SBA approved a total of $1.9 billion in loans to 1100 minority and women business owners. Compared to last year, this year’s demand for loans had increased by 54 percent.