Happy Valentine’s Day to all the lovers out there! Here’s hoping you showed the special person in your life how much you care by buying them something nice from a local small business. If you missed the big day, it’s not too late. Swing by the small business directory at buyalaska.com and blame the snow for the late delivery. I’m planning on swinging by there later today to see if anyone still sells moose nugget jewelry. Can’t beat a classic!
For those of you tracking national economic trends instead of romantic trends, the US Consumer Price Inflation rose by the lowest percentage since October 2021. That means those flowers and chocolates aren’t as expensive as they could have been! Slowing inflation is good news for Alaskan businesses and consumers as we head into Spring and what looks to be another big tourism season. Here’s hoping we can see these trends continue so we can keep the economic recovery going.
Speaking of keeping the recovery going, the Alaska SBDC is happy to announce that our State Small Business Credit Initiative funds are starting to be deployed! The Alaska Equity fund RFP closed earlier this month and we had a number of very strong proposals. We’re looking forward to partnering with private sector investors to start up three to five new equity funds focused on investing in Alaska’s growth businesses. The SSBCI Loan programs are also starting to sign up lenders this month and we anticipate them being able to start submitting loans as early as the first week of March. If you haven’t already, reach out to your lender and see if they’re planning on participating.
As the days get longer and thoughts turn inevitably towards Spring and new opportunities, I hope that you will reach out to the SBDC to learn about the new and expanded programs, tools, and training that we’re going to offer over the next year. From startups to exits, e-commerce to AI integration we’re planning on releasing an unprecedented amount of new resources to help Alaskan businesses survive and thrive. We look forward to helping you and your business continue to make Alaska’s communities vibrant and unique!
Jon Bittner
Alaska SBDC Executive Director