,i #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #idhf ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,september #f1 #bjbd,ms4 ,stansbury introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,small ,business ,a ,,bill ,to establish a grant program within the ,small ,business ,administration to provide funds for eligible accelerators or eligible incubators that provide services to small business concerns owned and controlled by women and rural small business concerns1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,innovation and ,empowerment for ,startups ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,there is a growing emphasis to bolster small business concerns owned and controlled by women 7as defined in section #c of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb77 and rural small business concerns 7as defined in this ,act74 7#b7 ,there are significant disparities that lead to unequal outcomes for rural small business concerns and small business concerns owned and controlled by women4 7#c7 ,small business concerns owned and controlled by women are less likely than small business concerns owned and controlled by men to obtain funding1 even though women and men are equally likely to achieve business success4 7#d7 ,rural entrepreneurs are more likely than non-rural entrepreneurs to experience higher costs of doing business1 and rural entrepreneurs struggle with more expenses related to running a business4 7#e7 ,small business concerns owned and controlled by women and rural small business concerns gain entrepreneurial knowledge1 network building1 and entrepreneurial self-efficacy during their participation in accelerators and incubators4 #c4 ,grant program for eligible accelerators or eligible incubators that provide services to certain small business concerns 7a7 ,establishment ,the ,administrator of the ,small ,business ,administration1 acting though the head of the ,office of ,entrepreneurial ,development of the ,administration1 shall establish a grant program to provide funds to eligible entities that provide services to small business concerns owned and controlled by women and rural small business concerns4 7b7 ,eligibility ,to be eligible for a grant under this section1 an eligible entity shall submit to the ,administrator an application containing the following3 7#a7 ,the effect the eligible entity has had on the success of small business concerns owned and controlled by women and rural small business concerns4 7#b7 ,the diversity and inclusivity efforts of the eligible entity with respect to the staff of a small business concern assisted by such eligible entity4 7#c7 ,the plans of the eligible entity to help ensure the sustainability of a small business concern assisted by such eligible entity4 7c7 ,use of funds ,a recipient of a grant under this section shall use amounts of such grant for the following3 7#a7 ,to provide consulting1 training1 shared facilities and resources1 or assistance with access to capital to small business concerns owned and controlled by women and rural small business concerns4 7#b7 ,to provide workshops1 seminars1 networking events1 and individual consultations to such concerns4 7#c7 ,to provide educational opportunities to such concerns on topics such as marketing strategy1 public relations1 website marketing and social media1 business planning1 financial planning and analysis1 and other opportunities1 as determined by such recipient4 7#d7 ,to advertise the services offered by such recipient4 7d7 ,amount ,an award made under this section shall be for exactly #bej1jjj4 7e7 ,reports 7#a7 ,to ,administrator ,not later than #a year after receipt of an award under this section1 a grant recipient shall submit to the ,administrator a report that includes the following3 7,a7 ,use of grant amounts4 7,b7 ,the effect of programs or services provided using grant amounts on small business concerns owned and controlled by women or rural small business concerns4 7#b7 ,to ,congress ,not later than #a year after the date of the enactment of this section and every #e years thereafter until #e years after the date on which the last grant is made under this section1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,small ,business of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,small ,business and ,entrepreneurship of the ,senate a report that includes a summary of the activities and outcomes associated with grants made under this section4 7f7 ,monitoring and evaluation ,the ,administrator shall implement procedures to monitor the effectiveness of the program established under this section to determine whether to extend the program4 7g7 ,authorization of appropriations ,there is authorized to be appropriated to the ,administrator of the ,small ,business ,administration #a1bej1jjj1jjj1 to remain available until expended for purposes of carrying out this section1 of which #aj percent is authorized to be allocated for grants to covered businesses4 7h7 ,definitions ,in this section3 7#a7 ,covered business ,the term covered business means a small business concern that is assigned a ,north ,american ,industry ,classification ,system code as follows3 7,a7 ,beginning with #aa 7relating to agriculture74 7,b7 ,beginning with #gaaa 7relating to creative industries74 7,c7 ,beginning with #gbaa 7relating to hospitality74 7,d7 ,beginning with #gbbc1 #gbbd1 or #gbbe 7relating to food services74 7,e7 #edafaa 7relating to management74 7,f7 #gaaeaj 7relating to artisans and craft makers74 7,g7 #edabaa or #edabai 7relating to accounting74 7,h7 #fbddaj 7relating to childcare74 7#b7 ,eligible accelerator ,the term eligible accelerator means an entity that conducts business in the ,united ,states and that has a demonstrated track record of successfully-- 7,a7 assisting entrepreneurs in starting up or expanding small business concerns owned and controlled by women and rural small business concerns2 7,b7 providing mentorship to such entrepreneurs2 7,c7 facilitating access to capital for such entrepreneurs2 and 7,d7 fostering connections1 as relevant1 among such entrepreneurs4 7#c7 ,eligible entity ,the term eligible entity means an eligible accelerator or an eligible incubator4 7#d7 ,eligible incubator ,the term eligible incubator means an entity that offers shared resources and services for startup businesses1 which may include office space1 consultants1 mentors1 technical support1 and access to capital4 7#e7 ,rural small business concern ,the term rural small business concern means a small business concern located in a rural area 7as defined in section #acic7;a77#b7 of the ,internal ,revenue ,code of #aihf74 7#f7 ,small business concern owned and controlled by women ,the term small business concern owned and controlled by women has the meaning given in section #c7n7 of the ,small ,business ,act 7#ae ,u4,s4,c4 #fcb7n774