Vision

International assistance is not charity; it is a strategic investment in the U.S. economy.

These investments provide both economic and national security rewards and improve our standing throughout the world. They create jobs, bolster local economies in communities across our country, help ensure stable global trading partnerships, and open new markets for U.S. business. In addition, there are robust systems in place to ensure that funds are properly allocated and spent, in compliance with all laws, helping to provide a high return in taxpayer investment.

Small businesses make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

This dynamic community of highly reliable, innovative, nimble, and technically expert service providers are essential to ensuring international assistance programs make America safer, stronger, and more prosperous.

These small businesses are located in Congressional districts throughout the country; SBAIC members alone represent 41 states.
Small businesses working on international assistance are for-profit organizations delivering services for which they are being paid; they are not borrowing money from the government to give it away to other countries. These are services that the U.S. government defines and procures, primarily through highly competitive contracts.
Small businesses tend to be highly cost-effective, enabling government dollars to go farther. They are critical to avoiding wasteful and ineffective spending, delivering results on time and on budget without compromising quality.
By exporting their uniquely American entrepreneurism, small organizations are creating new businesses and stable economies overseas. They have a unique ability to strengthen local capacity in the communities in which they work, helping to ensure solutions are sustainable.
These firms are nimble and operate with a combination of seasoned oversight, agility, and innovation. SBAIC members are prime contractors on 80 percent of the work they implement. With contracts ranging from $100,000 to $42 million, many of these contracts are equivalent in size and complexity to those held by far larger entities.
With few, if any, layers of hierarchy, small business leadership is readily accessible, responsive, and able to make decisions at a moment’s notice. This swift access and decision-making is praised and appreciated by U.S. government clients.
Many small businesses are highly specialized. Their teams include some of the top experts in their fields and help drive innovation in key areas.