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Unlocking the American Dream: SBA Leaders Bring Capital, Contracts, and Clarity to IACCGH’s Small Business Series

How SBA experts are helping Houston’s small businesses access funding, federal contracts, and strategic support

By Somdatta Basu

On a Tuesday morning that felt less like a business luncheon and more like a masterclass, the IACCGH Small Business Series convened at the Wallis Bank Community Room on March 31, 2026, with a room full of entrepreneurs, chamber leaders, and lenders gathered around one central question: how do small businesses actually access the resources that exist for them?

The answer, it turned out, was both more available — and more nuanced — than most in the room had realized.

Co-sponsored by Wallis Bank and the CenterPoint Energy Foundation, the event featured a delegation from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Houston District Office, led by District Director Mark Winchester, alongside Deputy District Director Winston Labbé and Lead Lender Relations Specialist Bobby Bilberry. Together, they walked the audience through what Winchester described as the SBA’s four pillars — Capital, Contracting, Counseling, and Crisis — in a session that was equal parts education, encouragement, and candid conversation.

The Capital Conversation

For many small business owners, the SBA remains a vaguely understood institution — something between a government agency and a lender, but not quite either. Winchester wasted no time clearing that up. “The SBA does not loan money directly,” he told the room plainly. The exception, he noted, is during a crisis or disaster — a point the audience would return to later. In all other cases, financing flows through lenders, with the SBA providing a guarantee that makes otherwise risky loans possible.

The flagship program is the 7A loan, with a maximum loan amount of $5 million and an SBA guarantee of 75%, rising to 90% for export working capital. Winchester noted that effective May 1st, that guarantee rate would increase to 90%. “Most lenders will not finance a startup unless it’s an SBA guarantee,” he said — a quiet but significant acknowledgment of how much the program does to open doors that would otherwise stay shut.

For larger, longer-term needs — particularly real estate — Winchester described the 504-loan program, which can go up to $12.5 million and even higher for manufacturing or energy-saving projects. Unlike 7A, the 504 involves two loans: one to the primary lender, and one to a Certified Development Corporation, whose portion carries a fixed interest rate for up to 25 years. “That’s the beauty of the 504,” he said.

Throughout the capital discussion, one name came up repeatedly: Wallis Bank. Winchester credited the institution as the SBA’s top-producing lender in Houston, and Wallis Bank’s own Nasr Khan — present in the room — drew laughter and appreciation when the story of his accessibility was retold. “He said people can call him on weekends, at night,” Winchester recalled, “and that is true.”

Contracting: Billions on the Table

If the capital discussion surprised some in the room, the contracting segment was where eyes genuinely widened.

The federal government spends approximately $700 billion in federal contracts annually — and is required by law to direct a portion of that to small businesses. Last year alone, $2.3 billion in federal contracts went to small businesses in Houston. The year before, it was $2.1 billion.

“There are opportunities for you,” Winchester said directly. “If you are looking to diversify your portfolio and revenue, contracting is the way to go.”

But he was equally direct about what it takes to get there. The SBA is looking for businesses that have been operating for two or more years, have some contracting experience, and have back-office capacity to research bids, obtain certifications, and respond. “If you are a business that meets those three categories, please come see me,” he said. “We are looking for you.”

He walked the room through the SBA’s legacy certification programs — the 8(a) Business Development Program, veteran-owned small business certification, women-owned small business set-asides, and the HubZone program, which is based simply on business location. Two years ago, $556 million went to HubZone-certified businesses alone. Winchester offered the match on the broader opportunity: at a goal of 5% of $700 billion in contracts across those certifications, the total potential is approximately $35 billion.

For businesses needing help navigating the contracting world, he pointed to the Apex Accelerator — hosted by the Texas Gulf Coast SBDC — which guides businesses through what he called the three R’s: research, register, and respond.

A Statistic That Stopped the Room

Among the most striking moments of the session came during the crisis segment, when Winchester shared the sobering reality of what disasters do to small businesses. “40% of businesses do not reopen after a disaster,” he said. “And another 20% who do reopen close within 12 months.” The arithmetic is stark: 60% of businesses affected by a disaster are gone within a year.

During Hurricane Harvey, the SBA deployed $3.5 billion in disaster assistance to the Houston region. Crisis loans can be used for real estate repair, personal property, economic injury, equipment, machinery, and inventory — with interest rates as low as 3.75% and terms up to 30 years.

The message was clear, and Winchester delivered it plainly: “If you’re in business, you need to prepare for disaster.” He directed attendees to the SBA’s business resumption and continuity of operations planning resources at sba.gov/disaster.

Manufacturing, Exporting, and the Made-in-America Moment

A significant portion of the session was devoted to manufacturing — a sector Winchester called foundational to Houston’s economic identity. Houston is home to 7,000 manufacturing businesses and holds the distinction of being the number one congressional district in the country for manufacturing jobs. The SBA has a dedicated Office of Manufacturing and International Trade, led locally by Jeremy Foreman, who handles export financing, export working capital loans, and international trade questions.

Winston Labbé highlighted the Gold Key Program through the U.S. Commercial Service — a lesser-known resource that helps businesses identify international buyers, set up meetings, and even accompany owners to those meetings abroad. “The cost is nominal, probably under $1,000,” Labbé said, noting that hotel costs at government rates often make the program effectively free. “When the request goes through the U.S. government, you end up meeting the CEO,” he added, sharing a personal anecdote about a business trip where his counterpart had expected the ambassador to walk through the door.

The Green Card Question — and a Candid Answer

One of the most pointed exchanges of the afternoon came when an audience member raised the recent SBA policy change that removed permanent legal residents (green card holders) from eligibility for SBA-backed loans. It was a question that carried real weight in a room full of immigrant entrepreneurs.

EVP/Chief Lending Officer- Wallis Bank, Nasr Khan addressed it directly and without deflection. “It’s a very big challenge,” he said, acknowledging that the bank had historically done significant SBA lending to green card holders. “We have opened the doors to do conventional lending,” he said, urging affected business owners to reach out. He also pointed out the broader systemic concern: community banks had relied on SBA loan sales to recycle capital into the community, and that cycle had now been disrupted. “It will hamper the growth of small and medium-sized businesses,” he said.

Winchester added that the feedback had been formally communicated through SBA Region 6 to the deputy regional administrator, and that the message was being carried across the country. It was not a resolution — but it was transparency, and the room appreciated it.

Asian Businesses: Punching Above Their Weight

When Daniel Yoo, Vice Chair of the Asian Chamber of Commerce, raised the question of bottlenecks preventing community businesses from accessing SBA capital, Winchester responded with a statistic of his own. While Asian-owned businesses represent approximately 17.9% of Houston’s business community, they account for 31% of SBA loans in the city. “The Asian community,” Winchester said, “is boxing above its weight.”

Khan added historical context: when he began working in SBA lending in 1994, the Asian community’s share of SBA loans was barely visible on a bar chart. “I took that challenge,” he said, crediting the work of community banks — particularly Wallis Bank — in introducing SBA lending to the South Asian and broader Asian business community over the decades since.

A Cybersecurity Warning Between the Lines

In an unscheduled but timely addition, IACCGH Founding secretary and Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia invited Rashmi Sheel of CMIT Solutions to briefly address a recent cybersecurity incident the chamber itself had experienced — a session token hijacking through Microsoft 365 that gave hackers admin-level access to the chamber’s email system without ever needing a password or multi-factor authentication.

“These session tokens are typically valid for 90 days and it’s like a master key,” Sheel explained, warning that changing passwords or MFA settings alone would not remove a malicious application once it had attached itself to an account. Her advice: businesses need active monitoring tools on their Microsoft 365 accounts to detect unauthorized applications before they cause damage.

It was a brief detour — but a necessary one, and the room was visibly attentive.

Closing on a Note of Gratitude and Possibility

As the session wound down, Ahluwalia reflected on what the morning had represented — not just a business event, but a long-running partnership between the SBA, Wallis Bank, CenterPoint Energy Foundation, and IACCGH that has been quietly, consistently putting resources in front of the entrepreneurs who need them most.

“I don’t exist without the SBA,” Khan said simply. It was the kind of statement that carries precisely because it comes without embellishment — a community banker acknowledging, in front of a room full of people who have built their lives on similar partnerships, that none of it happens alone.

Winchester closed with the SBA’s foundational mission, unchanged across administrations: “To make the American dream of business ownership a reality.”

In Houston, on a Tuesday in March, that dream had a room, a plan, and people willing to help make it happen.

For SBA resources, visit sba.gov. For lender matching, use the Lender Match tool on the SBA website. For questions on international trade financing, contact Jeremy Foreman at the SBA Houston District Office. For cybersecurity support, contact CMIT Solutions at cmitsolutions.com.

 

Pic Credit: Bijay Dixit (photographer)