Small Business Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman and Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, a 2023 Wash100 awardee, recently met with industry leaders to discuss President Biden’s AM Forward initiative to support small business suppliers within the U.S. supply chain.
The AM Forward program encourages large manufacturers to help stimulate the use of additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, among smaller U.S.-based suppliers, the Small Business Administration said Wednesday.
Lockheed Martin and General Electric, investment bank Stifel Financial and nonprofit research institute ASTRO America were represented at the meeting.
Attendees considered how the SBA’s Small Business Investment Company program could help entrepreneurs break down barriers to adopting new manufacturing technologies.
“The AM Forward Initiative, the SBA’s SBIC program and the establishment of DoD’s Office of Strategic Capital tell a compelling story about the power of partnerships to ensure that America’s small and medium-sized businesses continue to lead the world in innovation and critical technologies,” Hicks said.
The Department of Defense established the OSC in 2022 to help technology developers find needed capital to bring platforms to the military and national security markets.
