Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program

Addressing barriers to growth for small businesses.

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses has announced an expansion of its $100 million Investment in Rural Communities program to West Virginia. The initiative, which initially launched in 2023, focuses on empowering and supporting rural entrepreneurs through a comprehensive business education program and access to capital.

The investment is an extension of Goldman Sachs’ successful 10,000 Small Businesses program, which has served over 14,500 businesses across the country for more than a decade by helping provide them with the resources and support they need to succeed. The Investment in Rural Communities plans to reach rural small business owners in 20 states in the next five years and already has a proven track record of working with them. Recent survey data found that 74 percent of rural small businesses have grown revenues and 72 percent have expanded their workforce after completing the program.

Goldman Sachs’ $100 million Investment in Rural Communities provides comprehensive support to rural small businesses owners. The investment includes $75 million to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) to provide loans to small businesses, $15 million in funding for the business education programs at local community colleges and $10 million in access to capital capacity-building grants.

The Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses is a program for small businesses that links learning to action. Through the program, participants gain practical skills in topics such as negotiation, marketing and employee management that can immediately be put into action.

In addition, they receive the tools and professional support to develop a strategic and customized growth plan that will take their business to the next level.

Create and execute a growth plan
Identify and evaluate opportunities
Understand financial statements
Hire, retain and lead employees
Negotiate successfully