For the first time in the history of the U.S. Agency for International Development, the agency’s funding to American small businesses reached more than $1 billion in a year.
That’s approximately 13.7% of USAID’s acquisition awards in the fiscal year to September 2024, hovering at USAID’s 13.75% target for the year, according to the agency’s latest business forecast. And though it’s almost a full percentage point lower than the proportion channeled to small businesses in 2023 — 14.64% — agency heads emphasized the unprecedented dollar amount during a virtual briefing last week.
“This is the first time that we’ve crossed this threshold, and it is the largest number of dollars that we’ve ever obligated to U.S. small businesses,” said Kimberly Ball, director of the Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization at USAID, at the forecast.