US GAO Investigates The Use Of Blockchain To Oversee SBA’s Small Business Initiatives

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US GAO

The ability of blockchain to automate and enhance annual reporting, provide secured loans, and track business growth progress was highlighted by the US GAO. The SBA’s numerous programs can be more easily monitored thanks to blockchain technology, according to research by the US GAO. The US GAO investigated blockchain’s potential application in SBA schemes, which offer assistance to start-ups and small enterprises. The US GAO emphasized the use of blockchain to smoothen and enhance yearly reporting, enable secured loans, and track the advancement of business development in its report.

The experts mentioned in the US GAO investigation believe that it is possible for blockchain to assist the legal agency tackle several difficulties it confronts today, even though the SBA has not considered implementing technology:

US GAO Plans On Employing Blockchain Account To Speed Up

These include employing a blockchain-based account to speed up the SBA’s reporting to Congress, help gather real-time information for establishing program participants’ eligibility, and simplify program oversight. Four SBA schemes participated in the study to look at the possible applications and constraints of adopting blockchain. It discovered that blockchain can lessen the risk of fraud in the SBA’s main loan guarantee scheme for small firms, known as the 7(a) Loan Program. 

If all information regarding these 7(a) loans were kept on a database based on blockchain, it would make SBA oversight easier. In this instance, reputable sources could confirm the details of the borrowers and loans. The use of fraud by lending service providers cannot be stopped by technology, nevertheless. Blockchain technology could be used by the 8(a) BDP, which supports small firms operated and owned by people from economically and socially disadvantaged backgrounds, to gather real-time information for assessing the participants’ ongoing eligibility.