The U.S. Small Business Administration announced a renewal of its two-year partnership agreement with the Minority Business RoundTable (MBRT) to continue joint outreach efforts to minority entrepreneurs.

“Far too often, minority-owned small businesses and entrepreneurs encounter hurdles to getting capital, contracts and other assistance to help them succeed in the marketplace,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “Making sure we do all we can to remove these hurdles is a top priority for SBA and the Obama Administration.”

MBRT is a national membership organization for minority CEOs that serves as a unified voice for minority businesses. The strategic alliance is part of SBA’s ongoing effort to support small business development initiatives in underserved communities.

Since the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law on Feb. 17, 2009, minority-owned small businesses have received more than $4 billion in SBA-backed loans, about 23 percent of the more than $18.5 billion in small business lending SBA has supported under the Recovery Act. Minority-owned businesses continue to account for about 29 percent of the agency’s overall lending and 37 percent of its microloans, according to Businesswire.com.

Minority-owned small businesses also have reportedly received more than $3 billion worth of federal contracts under the Recovery Act, although there are rumblings in the African American community that the funding does not always reach Black businesses.

Hustletown Readers, how do your community’s Black businesses fare in 2010? Let us know in our comments section!