St. George— On Thursday, Dec. 3, following a ribbon cutting ceremony, the US Small Business Administration (SBA) opened its new St. George, UT satellite office, which is in the Federal Building, 196 East Tabernacle Street. This new office will serve businesses in Southwestern Utah and is the first time the SBA has created a secondary office in the state outside of Salt Lake City. The St. George office will be staffed by an SBA employee that will focus on economic development outreach to rural areas south of Salt Lake City. 

“Bridging the gap between urban and rural population centers, and ensuring that small businesses in rural areas have the same access to capital and business counseling services as their urban counterparts, is a top priority for the SBA administrator and Trump Administration,” said SBA Regional Administrator Dan Nordberg. “By partnering with our federal, state, and local elected officials, and business community, we’re fulfilling that commitment and establishing a hub that will better serve Southern Utah’s main street small businesses”

It has been a goal of the agency to place an office in St. George for a decade, but permanent funding was finally secured this year with support of the SBA administrator, Regional Administrator Dan Nordberg, Utah’s congressional offices, and local elected officials and economic development organizations. The SBA’s Utah district office is in Salt Lake City, and this new satellite location brings SBA staff closer to businesses located in the southern part of the state.

“I am very excited to have this satellite office finally approved to help sustain and grow the market and economy in southern Utah,” said Utah District Director Marla Trollan. “The SBA has been working hard to reach out to rural communities across the state, especially during the current COVID 19 pandemic, and this new location will not only serve the people of St George but also surrounding communities.”

Small business is truly big business in Utah.  With more than 300,000 small firms in the state, employing nearly 600,000 Utahns, this focus on rural entrepreneurs has been a priority for the SBA.  Over the last nine months the SBA has played a critical role in providing pandemic relief to thousands of Utah businesses and non-profit organizations through the Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program. This satellite office will play a critical role in making access to SBA’s programs and services easier to all state residents. 

For more information on SBA’s programs and services please visit www.sba.gov. Follow us on Twitter @SBArockymtn.