(Washington, February 19) – Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), alongside Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Representative Ayanna Pressley (MA-7) today introduced the Strengthening Place-based Access, Resources, and Knowledge (SPARK) Act to spur entrepreneurship and increase access to capital and resources for underserved entrepreneurs nationwide. The SPARK Act would create the SPARK Program to provide grant funding to community organizations that support small business accelerators and incubators, and the SPARK Financing Program to provide grants and low-cost loans directly to underserved small businesses.
“In Massachusetts, Black and Latino-owned businesses report issues accessing capital at twice the rate of white-owned businesses. This gap is not an accident—it’s the predictable consequence of intentional, unjust policies that have excluded entire communities from the opportunity to accumulate wealth,” said Ranking Member Markey. “Structural problems require long-term, whole-of-community solutions. My SPARK Act would supercharge existing infrastructure and create a new program that provides direct grants to underserved entrepreneurs. I’m proud of being on a team with Jaylen to help uplift the next generation of underinvested entrepreneurs.”
“Our Black, Latino, and women-owned businesses are pillars of our communities, but they are too often targeted for disinvestment with no meaningful opportunities to build wealth,” said Rep. Ayanna Pressley. “In order to build wealth across our communities, we must confront the structural inequities that have long been embedded in our economic infrastructure and entrepreneurship opportunity. The SPARK Act would do exactly that—ensuring that the small businesses and business owners we know and love not only have the resources to stay in our city, but to grow. I’m grateful to introduce this legislation with Senator Markey and community partners to ensure our economy reflects the dreams and needs of the people who carry it.”
“Hawaii is the most diverse state in the nation, and our economy depends on small businesses and entrepreneurs from all backgrounds. As the Trump Regime continues to attack programs that support diverse businesses, it’s critical that we reaffirm our commitment to supporting these businesses and the communities they serve,” Senator Hirono said. “By creating a new program that directs grants to underserved entrepreneurs, the SPARK Act will help to foster and strengthen minority-owned businesses in Hawaii and across the country. I’m proud to join Ranking Member Markey in introducing legislation that recognizes the importance of diversity and invests in our future.”
“Our nation’s economy is strongest when opportunity reaches everyone, not just the wealthiest few,” said Senator Booker. “Since its inception, the Small Business Administration has been the voice of entrepreneurs and small business owners who can’t access the capital and resources they need to thrive, because they are passed over by big banks, are from a small town, or simply aren’t well-connected. The high costs of Trump’s economy and his attacks on SBA programs have now made it harder than ever to find a quality job and start or grow a small business. This legislation would reverse course, expand access to financing and mentorship, benefiting more Americans by helping women, veteran, and minority-owned businesses grow so their local communities can thrive.”
Several community leaders and stakeholders emphasized the importance of the SPARK Act to supercharging minority entrepreneurship nationwide.
“Real economic power comes from ownership, not just having a job, but owning the business, the building, the block. When communities have the resources to build and capital circulates locally instead of extracting out, that’s when you create generational wealth, not just jobs,” said Jaylen Brown, Founder of Boston Xchange and five-time NBA All-Star for the Boston Celtics. “Senator Markey’s SPARK Act invests in the institutions that help people go from employees to owners, from renters to builders. That shift doesn’t just build wealth, it builds belonging. And when people feel rooted in the places they live and work, the benefits ripple across the entire community, creating stability, pride, and long-term economic power.”
“Community isn’t transactional, it’s transformational. When you love your community like family, you don’t just write a check and walk away. You build systems that last. You invest in the people and institutions that know how to support businesses the way families do: with trust, patience, and long-term commitment,” said Jrue and Lauren Holiday, Founders of the JLH Social Impact Fund. “Senator Markey’s SPARK Act resources the ecosystem builders who show up that way, not for a program cycle, but to build systems that last and create real belonging. When people feel supported and seen, that impact ripples outward, strengthening families, neighborhoods, and local economies for generations. That’s the difference between supporting communities and transforming them.”
“It takes a village to grow a business, but villages need infrastructure,” said Renee King, CEO of We Are The Funders. “Right now, we’re leaving entire communities un-resourced while asking them to build at scale. The result isn’t just inequity, it’s economic loss. We’re leaving money on the table. The SPARK Act invests in the on-the-ground ecosystem builders who already know how to mobilize all communities into ownership. We support the SPARK Act because resourcing these institutions isn’t optional, it’s economically necessary.”
“Years of research and experience from our Business Equity Fund and other initiatives have proven repeatedly that Massachusetts communities thrive when all business owners and entrepreneurs succeed. That success requires access to startup and growth capital, along with networks, connections and systems that support business growth,” said Keith Mahoney, Vice President of Public Affairs at The Boston Foundation (TBF). “The SPARK Act can play a powerful role in making capital available for small businesses that create new jobs, meet critical needs and create vibrant, healthy communities in neighborhoods, cities and towns throughout the Commonwealth.”
“The SPARK Act is exactly the kind of bold, place-based federal investment our communities have been calling for. For too long, Black, minority, and rural entrepreneurs have been expected to overcome structural barriers without sustained infrastructure, capital, or coordinated support,” said Nicole Obi, CEO of the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA). “This legislation recognizes that successful small businesses don’t emerge in isolation, they grow within strong local ecosystems. By investing in incubators, accelerators, and community-based lenders while pairing technical assistance with flexible financing, the SPARK Act addresses the real gaps that limit business growth, job creation, and wealth building in underserved communities. We commend Ed Markey for advancing a policy framework that centers equity, accountability, and long-term economic impact. At the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, we see SPARK as a powerful tool to help scale Black-owned businesses, strengthen local economies, and ensure that entrepreneurship is a viable pathway to shared prosperity across the Commonwealth and the nation.”
“BDC Community Capital supports the SPARK Act because of its focus on spurring economic growth in underserved communities, increasing prospects for success for small businesses in underserved communities, and its focus on collaboration between the Small Business Administration and organizations that serve low-income, minority, and rural communities,” said Karim Hill, President of BDC Community Capital Corporation.
“The SPARK Act would provide a critical investment in underserved entrepreneurs and the community-based institutions that support them,” said Dr. Jonathan K. Jefferson, President of Roxbury Community College (RCC). “At RCC, our Business Innovation Center already delivers the kind of holistic, place-based assistance the bill envisions by combining mentorship, technical support, and pathways to capital to help businesses grow and succeed. By strengthening accelerator and incubator programs at community colleges, the SPARK Act would allow proven models like RCC’s to scale their impact, drive inclusive economic growth, and provide all residents with streamlined pathways to economic mobility.”
“Our Vamos Massachusetts report shows that Hispanic and Latino communities have a strong entrepreneurial spirit, with nearly 60,000 businesses operating across the state in 2024,” said Eneida Román, President and CEO of We Are ALX. “Yet Latino and Hispanic-owned businesses make up only 9 percent of all businesses, and only 3 percent have employees. The SPARK Act would help change that by strengthening the support systems that help small businesses access funding, build capacity, and scale, so their success can translate into more jobs and long-term growth in our communities. This is needed legislation that would help close persistent equity gaps, ensure that Hispanic/Latino entrepreneurs have access to the same opportunities for growth as others, and strengthen the economic fabric of Massachusetts.”
“The SPARK Act builds a stronger small business ecosystem by investing in proven, research-informed, community-based programs,” said Steve Grossman, CEO of ICIC. “By pairing access to capital with the right guidance and support, this legislation helps underserved entrepreneurs build scalable companies, create jobs, and build generational wealth in their communities.”
The legislation is also endorsed by the Urban League, U.S. Black Chambers (USBC), Small Business Majority (SBM), Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP), National ACE, National Small Business Association (NSBA), United States Hispanic Business Council (USHBC), Invest Appalachia, Center for Entrepreneurial Opportunity, Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO), Economic and Community Development Institute, National Association for Community College Entrepreneurship (NACCE), Community and Technical College Consortium, Allan Hancock College, Mt. San Jacinto College, San Diego Community College District, and Foothill College.
Ranking Member Markey is a champion of underserved small businesses and holding the Trump administration accountable for its continued attacks on federal equity programs and other efforts to address the racial wealth gap.
- On February 9th, Ranking Member Markey held a field hearing in Roxbury, Massachusetts on the role of entrepreneurship in closing the racial wealth gap. At the hearing, community leaders discussed how Ranking Member Markey’s SPARK Act would supercharge minority entrepreneurship and help close the racial wealth gap.
- Earlier this month, Ranking Member Markey secured funding with the Appropriations Committee for Small Business Development Centers, Women’s Business Centers, SCORE Chapters, and Veterans Business Outreach Centers and rein in the Administration’s attempts to eliminate programs that support women, veterans, and underserved entrepreneurs.
- In January, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to oppose rule changes that would gut protections against discriminatory lending practices that harm small businesses.
- In December, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the SBA Administrator expressing significant concerns with the SBA’s overly burdensome request and unclear guidance for extensive financial documentation over the holidays, as a part of their sweeping attempts to dismantle the 8(a) Business Development Program.
- In July and December, Ranking Member Markey sent letters to the SBA Administrator demanding answers about the Trump administration’s efforts to limit economic opportunity for American entrepreneurs, including immigrants.
- In May, Ranking Member Markey sent a letter to the SBA Administrator rejecting President Trump’s FY 2026 budget proposal and calling on SBA to immediately release funding for the entrepreneurial development programs, which include programs like the Women’s Business Centers and the Veteran’s Business Development Centers that support underserved small business owners.
- In April, Ranking Member Markey introduced the New Start Act of 2025 to establish a five-year pilot program providing grants to support entrepreneurial development training for currently or formerly incarcerated individuals.
- In February 2025, Ranking Member Markey sent letters to the SBA Administrator and Government Accountability Office (GAO) condemning President Trump’s war on diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) policies and asking how the SBA intends to implement Trump’s anti-DEIA executive orders.
Alongside members of the Small Business Committee and the Commerce Committee, Ranking Member Markey is fighting to protect the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) from being illegally dismantled. In January, Ranking Member Markey called on the GAO to examine whether the Administration defied federal court orders that directed the Administration to stop dismantling the MBDA. Ranking Member Markey sent oversight letters to the Administration to defend the MBDA in June, May, and March of 2025.