Competition spurs SBA mobile app creation

12/21/2011

A competition held by the U.S. Small Business Administration recently challenged developers to create useful web and mobile tools for small businesses.

The Apps for Entrepreneurs Challenge offered prizes ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 for software that small business owners can use to search federal, state and local databases for information.

Somesh Kumar of Freemont, California, took home the top prize for his app, called SBA Gems. It allows entrepreneurs to "quickly and efficiently" find SBA loans, grants, permits and other small business resources.

"It was a great learning experience to participate in SBA's Apps for Entrepreneurs Challenge and to create SBA Gems," said Kumar.

Three second-place winners were also named, earning $3,000 each for their efforts. Muneeb Akhter of Springfield, Virginia, developed CapitaList, which finds federal databases for licenses, awards, proposals and websites. Joseph Blough of Dexter, Michigan, created the Small Business Toolbox, which offers resources to find small business programs and SBA district offices, and, according to Crain's Detroit Business, allows users to stay current regarding government programs available to them. Finally, Richard Murphy of Silver Spring, Maryland, took home the last second place prize for the SBA Loan Search App, which helps find loans, venture capital and tax incentives.

Judges also named three third-place winners, granting each developer with $2,000. Robert Grogan of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, made Energy SBA, an app that finds property rights and oil, solar and gas leases. Its goal is to help entrepreneurs develop new forms of energy and uses both SBA and U.S. Bureau of Land Management data, the Pioneer Press adds. SB Alert was invented by Ben McGinnis and his team from Fairfax, Virginia, and it helps owners find contracting opportunities and receive push notification{s?}. Lastly, Everything For The Entrepreneur, an app that helps find Small Business Innovation Research solicitations, was the brainchild of Edwardo Martinez of San Francisco.

"Smartphones and tablets are increasingly the vehicles through which Americans access information," said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. "This is certainly true of many entrepreneurs and small business owners.  Greater mobility fits with SBA's new focus and is among the steps we are taking to do a better job of connecting entrepreneurs and small business owners with the tools to help them start or grow their businesses and create jobs."

The SBA held the competition to create mobile options for owners in addition to its own app, created for the iPhone last year.

Using the SBA's mobile app, users can find local SBA affiliated advisers, receive one-on-one advice for growing a business, features a startup cost calculator to help estimate the funds needed to get a company off the ground as well as an SBA partner locator to streamline searches for SBA offices, Small Business Development Centers, Women's Business Centers and Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE).

Furthermore, the SBA's app provides video content and social media alerts, as well as live updates from its YouTube channel and Twitter page.

SBA-related mobile apps don't end with this competition, however. Last July, Certified Development Company TMC released its SBA 504 mobile app, featuring a loan calculator that can assist commercial real estate brokers in the creation of 504 loans.

Features of the app include the ability to share estimated monthly loan payments with potential buyers, send loan samples via email and customize samples to include agents' name and company.

Any of the seven apps that took home awards can be downloaded from the SBA website.