SBA Admin Loeffler’s Exclusive Arizona Globe Sit-Down

As part of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) National Small Business Week (NSBW) celebrations, Administrator Kelly Loeffler visited Phoenix to attend AZBizCon 2025. The event, hosted by the Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA), brought together local business leaders, innovators, and community members. Held at the National Bank of Arizona Headquarters Conference Center, Loeffler granted The Arizona Globe an exclusive sit-down interview.

The former U.S. Senator from Georgia may be new to the SBA, but she’s no stranger to leadership. Loeffler reflected on the experience she brings to the role and her fast start at the agency.

“I built a nearly three-decade business career,” Loeffler said, underscoring her deep roots in the private sector. “I’ve supported President Trump’s agenda, and I’ve built businesses myself, so I understand what small business owners are up against.”

Now, as SBA Administrator, she’s channeling that experience into action.

“I am thrilled to come into the SBA and support the 34 million small businesses across this country that are creating opportunity and are the heartbeat of our community,” she said.

Loeffler described her transition into the role as smooth and focused. “It’s been a great transition because I am applying three decades of business principles and the experiences I had in Washington.”

And she wasted no time getting to work.

“Within a couple of days of being sworn in, we published our Day One Priorities,” she told The Globe. “We’ve largely accomplished all of them and are about to publish our next set of goals.”

From building businesses to building policy, Loeffler’s approach at the SBA reflects her dual background in boardrooms and on Capitol Hill. She emphasized, “The number one goal was to restore the original purpose of the SBA, which was to empower small businesses and grow the U.S. economy.”

To achieve that goal, she stated, “We had to get the bureaucracy out of the way.”

When asked by the Globe what steps are being taken to ensure fairness in SBA programs, Loeffler responded candidly. “To level the playing field, we shut down the DEI initiatives,” she said. “We also aren’t going to locate our regional offices in sanctuary cities.”

To combat fraud, she added, “We now require birthdates and citizenship checks on loan applications.”

Loeffler emphasized that the SBA operates as a public-private partnership, saying, “We are working closely with our community banks.”

She also confirmed that the agency has eliminated its “green lending programs.”

Looking ahead, Loeffler pointed to deregulation and the Made in America Initiative as key drivers of small business growth. “We need to make sure kids are ready to enter the workforce,” she said, adding, “as we return to manufacturing, it will be next-generation manufacturing.”

Loeffler told the Globe, “We are seeing real innovation—employers are making investments and putting students on the right path.” The SBA Administrator emphasized that new “workforce readiness” efforts will be rolled out in the coming months.

When asked about concerns from companies wary of tariffs, Loeffler responded, “Fair trade is extremely important to strengthening American industries. Our industries have been hollowed out. Over the last three decades, we’ve lost not only businesses but also expertise.”

She cited staggering figures: “We lost 78,000 factories and 5 million jobs—jobs that used to provide an on-ramp to young people.”

Loeffler explained the administration’s trade strategy, “In our fair trade policy, we have 75 partners at the negotiating table. What we’ve gotten as a country is a complete imbalance, both monetary and non-monetary, in trade.”

“America has the innovation and ability to make things here at home,” she said, “and we should not be dependent on China for critical components.”

Loeffler closed by expressing gratitude to President Trump: “I’m grateful to President Trump for believing in the American worker and American ingenuity.”

When asked by the Globe whether she planned to meet with Governor Hobbs or a representative of her administration, Loeffler responded: “My goal at the SBA is to work with state and local economic groups to allow main street businesses to flourish.”

She emphasized a decentralized approach to economic development. “We have 68 SBA offices across the country. I’m not going to come into Arizona and say I know what’s best for Arizona,” she said. “Those decisions are best made close to home—to empower the specific skill sets that are needed. We’ll provide the capital and access to government contracts to support that.”

While in Arizona, Loeffler visited Dillon Precision, a Scottsdale, AZ business she recognized as “another great American Manufacturer.”

Kelly Loeffler, the 28th Administrator of the SBA, is on a mission to “Make Main Street Great Again.”