The owner of Laurabelle’s Cupcakery in Corning used a loan backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to expand her startup business in a “historic, visible” storefront.

Tarrah Seaver, owner of Laurabelle’s Cupcakery, used a $25,000 SBA microloan from REDEC/RRC, one of the Southern Tier’s SBA lending partners, the agency said in a news release. 

REDEC/RRC is the Southern Tier’s primary revolving loan fund, providing financial and technical assistance for start-up and expanding businesses located in Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, and Tioga counties, per the website of the Corning Area Chamber of Commerce. RRC is short for REDEC Relending Corporation, the website says.

Seaver — who named her business after her grandmother — first opened her business in a small storefront off East Market Street in downtown Corning, then moved across the street to her current location, a former shoe store. The space has “shelf-lined walls [that] make a great display space for her collection of vintage and modern cake stands,” the SBA noted. 

But Seaver needed additional equipment, including ventilation equipment for her retail location. 

“The SBA has delivered on its promise to upstate’s entrepreneurs by working together with our lending and resource partners,” Bernard J. Paprocki, director of the SBA’s Upstate New York district, contended in a statement. “We are empowering entrepreneurs at every stage of their business lifecycle, including recovery. Backed by the strength and stability of the federal government, our team will continue to connect small businesses like Tarrah’s with the financing they need to fuel the economy.” 

The SBA cited Seaver’s loan as it announced summary loan data of fiscal year 2020, which includes the financial assistance provided through traditional loan-program lending as well as additional aid provided through the CARES Act, per an Oct. 29 news release. 

Fiscal year 2020 (FY20) spanned Oct. 1, 2019 through Sept. 30, 2020.

Loans guaranteed through traditional SBA lending programs exceeded $28 billion nationally, the agency said. 

In FY20, SBA’s flagship 7(a) loan program made about 42,000 7(a) loans totaling $22.55 billion. The 504-loan program had another year of increased performance, with more than 7,000 loans made for a total dollar amount of more than $5.8 billion. 

In September, SBA approved more than $1 billion in 504-program loans, which is a “record for monthly volume,” the agency noted.

The microloan program, which specifically helps businesses in underserved communities, had a “second straight record year performance” with nearly $85 million going to over 5,800 small businesses. 

Thirty-four percent of microloans made in FY20 went to Black-owned small businesses, the SBA said.

Lenders reported that minority business owners received $7.5 billion in combined 7(a) and 504-program lending, or 27 percent of the agency’s loan portfolio. 

Further reported data shows SBA’s 7(a) lending to women-owned businesses was nearly $2.7 billion in FY20 while lending from the 504-loan program to women-owned businesses topped $522 million. Loans to veterans also totaled nearly $835 million for the 7(a) and 504 programs.

CARES Act impact

Small-business loan volume went to a dramatically higher level with enactment of the CARES Act to deal with the devastating effects the pandemic had on small businesses.

In the recently closed fiscal year, the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) provided an additional 5.2 million potentially forgivable loans worth more than $525 billion nationally. The SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) Program, which is administered by the agency’s Office of Disaster Assistance, added another 3.6 million small-business loans valued at $191 billion. It also processed an additional 5.7 million EIDL advances worth $20 billion. 

As of the last disaster-assistance report, New York state saw more than 300,000 EIDL loans approved for over $17.3 billion.

SBA listed what it called “highlights” from the PPP effort that included 27 percent of the PPP loan dollars going to low-and moderate-income communities which is “in proportion to the percentage of population in these areas.”

Also, more than $133 billion, or 25 percent, of PPP loans were approved for small businesses in historically underutilized business zones, or what are called HUBZones.

In addition, more than $80 billion, or 15 percent, of total PPP dollars were approved to small businesses in rural communities.

Grow-NY on Nov. 9 announced it’s preparing to host its two-day Food & Ag Summit — which includes its pitch competition — completely virtually on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18. 

Grow-NY describes itself as “one of the largest” global food and agriculture business competitions. The second-year contest focuses on strengthening the food and agriculture “innovation cluster” within the Central New York, Finger Lakes, and Southern Tier regions of New York. 

Shifting from its original in-person event due to pandemic-related safety concerns, the all-virtual summit will now leverage technology to bring together its top 20 finalists, all “high-growth” startups, to pitch and answer questions in real time in front of a panel of judges for a chance to win a combined total of $3 million in prize money. 

Free registration for the Summit is available at grow-ny.com; registration is also open for the awards ceremony which is scheduled for the following week on Nov. 23. 

“COVID-19 has challenged all of us to stay on course towards our goals. New York state and our partner group have steadfastly supported us in continuing to move the Grow-NY program forward, with even greater urgency. We’ve taken it as an opportunity to practice our own innovation, and as a result, we were able to pivot from our traditional in-person Summit to create a dynamic virtual venue,” Jenn Smith, program director for Grow-NY, said in a release. “We’re thrilled that our finalists have the opportunity to share their stories and ambitions, and even with the new virtual format, there will be numerous ways for attendees to network, forge connections with other members of the community and truly immerse themselves in innovation through our panel discussions.”

This year, 264 startups and entrepreneurs applied for round one of the competition before the group was narrowed to the top 20 finalists. Since the finalist announcement this past September, these startups have worked with their assigned mentors to better understand how they can make the biggest impact in the Grow-NY region and prepare for their pitches. 

The finalists will have 10 minutes each to present their business plans, with the remaining 10 minutes set aside for questions from the panel of judges. 

Tuesday’s startup pitches will feature businesses working in the consumer-packaged goods, distribution, food safety, processing, and packaging spaces. Wednesday’s startup pitches will be from businesses working in digital ag, farm operations, livestock health, and soil and crop tech. 

Researchers, experts, and industry partners will also speak to the latest industry trends and innovations during the event in a series of panel discussions scheduled throughout both days. 

Some of the session topics include “Drafting a Roadmap for Emerging Crops,” “Hemp’s Regulatory Landscape,” “Mending our Fractured Food System,” “Changing Climate, Changing Farms,” and “A Feast From Crumbs: Salvaging Food Waste.”

“Our Summit attracts a wide variety of attendees including startups, companies, investors, resource providers, researchers, entrepreneurs, farmers, and agricultural and STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) students that are really committed — and potentially invested — in the future of our region’s food and agriculture sectors,” said Smith. 

The award ceremony is set for Nov. 23 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., with the announcement of which finalists were selected by the panel of judges to win the $1 million top prize, two $500,000 prizes, and four $250,000 prizes. 

Hamdi Ulukaya, CEO and founder of Chobani, will provide the keynote speech for the ceremony and New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul will speak about the impact of the competition on New York state, Grow-NY said.