Senator Chris Coons Visits Delaware Transportation Small Business and Hosts Roundtable With Local Business Owners

March 21, 2023

WILMINGTON, DE – Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) visited the headquarters of Delaware Limo, a local small business that focuses on transportation services, and took part in a conversation with small business leaders from the Wilmington area as a part of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices “Small Business. America’s Future” series. As a leading member of the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Community, Senator Coons works on an array of issues supporting the vibrancy of American entrepreneurship. The group discussed the challenges and opportunities that small businesses are facing in today’s economy.

Elorm Ahiamadjie, a graduate of Goldman Sachs’s 10,000 Small Businesses and the Founder and CEO of Delaware Limo, gave Senator Coons a tour of his business before moving to a roundtable discussion. Ahiamadjie was joined by fellow 10,000 Small Businesses alumni Coleman Bye of Mercantile Press, Greg Finkle of Trinity Subsurface, Markevis Gideon of NERDiT Now, Devon Mitchell of DSN Corporation, Mareya Steinbacher of Shoreline Medical, Suzanne Swift of Spec Simple, Sandy Taccone of Blue Blaze Associates, and Marian Young of BrightFields.

Among the issues discussed was access to affordable capital, workforce competitiveness, and leveling the playing field for small businesses. Senator Coons and the small business owners also talked about modernizing and reauthorizing the Small Business Administration for the first time since 2000.

“Small businesses are the backbone of communities across Delaware, demonstrating the resilience and innovation that makes our state and country strong,” said Senator Coons. “It was wonderful to hear from a handful of the 10,000 Small Businesses Voices to learn how I can continue to help them unleash their potential, including by fighting for the reauthorization of the Small Business Administration, and SCORE in particular. I look forward to continuing to work every day to support and empower small businesses and entrepreneurs across Delaware.”

“It was an honor to host Senator Chris Coons at Delaware Limo. Small businesses like ours have faced all kinds of obstacles over the last few years, but we’ve persevered. I was grateful to join with other Delaware small business owners to talk about our difficulties as well as opportunities for growth. Senator Coons was an excellent listener when we discussed our experiences, and he heard and appreciated what we have all fought through over the last few years. I’m thankful he took time out of his schedule to come to Delaware Limo and hear from the constituents that are the lifeblood of our great state. I’m also thankful for Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses for providing me with the knowledge I need to develop my business, along with organizing this event today that united Delaware business leaders for this important discussion,” said Elorm Ahiamadjie, Founder and CEO of Delaware Limo.

The “Small Business. America’s Future” policymaker series will build on prior years’ roundtable meetings with a focus on the future of small business in America. Highlighted is the increasingly urgent need to reauthorize and modernize the Small Business Administration for the first time in 23 years to address the small business challenges of today and tomorrow. According to a recent 10,000 Small Business Voices [goldmansachs.com] survey, 94% of small business owners believe it is important for Congress to comprehensively reauthorize the Small Business Administration in order to:

• Modernize technical assistance and entrepreneurial development programs to reflect today’s technology;
• Ensure that access to capital programs meets the various financing needs of small businesses to continue to grow and attract investment;
• Expand federal procurement opportunities for more small businesses to do business with the government;
• Build a more responsive customer support center to ensure that questions and inquiries do not go unanswered; and
• Develop a 21st-century communications and marketing strategy to bring more awareness to the resources available for small businesses.

ABOUT 10,000 SMALL BUSINESSES VOICES

Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices is an initiative for program participants to organize and advocate for policies that matter to them. It builds on Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses, which over the past decade has provided access to education, capital, and support services to more than 10,000 small business owners across all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C. Learn more at www.gs.com/10ksb-voices [goldmansachs.com].