[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 249 (Wednesday, December 28, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 81430]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-33044]



[[Page 81430]]

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SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

13 CFR Part 107


Small Business Investment Companies--Early Stage SBICs; Public 
Webinars

AGENCY: U.S. Small Business Administration.

ACTION: Notice of public Webinars.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announces that it 
is holding a series of public Webinars regarding its proposed Early 
Stage Small Business Investment Companies (Early Stage SBIC) rule. The 
proposed Early Stage SBIC rule defines a new sub-category of small 
business investment companies (SBICs) that will focus on making equity 
investments in early stage small businesses. The Webinars will provide 
a basic overview of and respond to questions regarding the proposed 
rule. The Webinars will be transcribed or summarized and become part of 
the administrative record.

DATES: Webinars are scheduled for January 11, 13, and 19, 2012, as 
outlined in Section II.

ADDRESSES: The phone number and corresponding web address for each 
Webinar will be provided to participants upon registration.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Investment and Innovation at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background Information

    On December 9, 2011, SBA published a proposed Early Stage SBIC rule 
to define a new sub-category of SBICs that will focus on making equity 
investments in early stage small businesses. This initiative is part of 
President Obama's ``Start-Up America Initiative'' to encourage American 
innovation and job creation by promoting high-growth entrepreneurship 
across the country to help encourage private sector investment in job-
creating startups and small firms, accelerate research, and address 
barriers to success for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
    In order to familiarize the public with the content of the proposed 
Early Stage SBIC rule, SBA will host several Webinars on the proposed 
rule. Interested parties may choose any Webinar listed in Section II to 
attend, although one Webinar will be directed towards participants 
already familiar with the SBIC program and the other Webinars will be 
directed to those not familiar with the SBIC program. Webinars will be 
transcribed or summarized and become part of the administrative record. 
Since the purpose of the Webinars is to familiarize participants with 
the proposed rule, comments on specific aspects of the rule will not be 
solicited during the Webinars. Comments regarding the proposed rule 
must be submitted at www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=SBA-2011-
0023-0001.

II. Webinar Schedule

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                                   Webinar date and      Registration
    Webinar participant focus            time            closing date
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Participants Already Familiar     January 11, 2012,   January 6, 2012,
 with the SBIC Program.            1 pm Eastern        11:59 pm EST.
                                   Standard Time
                                   (EST).
Participants Not Familiar with    January 13, 2012,   January 10, 2012,
 the SBIC Program.                 1 pm EST.           11:59 pm EST.
Participants Not Familiar with    January 19, 2012,   January 13, 2012,
 the SBIC Program.                 2 pm EST.           11:59 pm EST.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Each session is expected to last no more than 1 hour.

III. Registration

    If you are interested in attending any Webinar, you must pre-
register by the registration closing date by sending an email to 
[email protected]. You must include in the SUBJECT line the date 
of the Webinar for which you wish to participate, and in the body of 
the email, please provide the following: Participant's Name, Title, 
Organization Affiliation, Address, Telephone Number, Email Address, and 
Fax Number. Please also note if you need accommodation because of a 
disability. SBA will accommodate all reasonable requests made at least 
one week in advance of the requested Webinar. You must submit your 
email by the applicable registration closing date listed in Section II 
of this notice.
    Due to technological limitations, participation is limited to 110 
registrants per session. If the requested session is unavailable, SBA 
will try to schedule you for a different session and notify you via 
email. Because of the limited number of registrants, please only 
register for one Webinar. If demand exceeds capacity for all three 
sessions, SBA may consider holding more Webinars. SBA will announce any 
additional Webinars through a Federal Register notice and on its Web 
site, www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage.
    SBA will confirm the registration via email along with instructions 
for participating. SBA will post any presentation materials associated 
with the Webinars on the day of the Webinar at www.sba.gov/inv/earlystage. Participants are responsible for ensuring their systems are 
compatible with the Webinar software.
    If there are specific questions you would like SBA to address 
during the Webinars, please send your question(s) to SBA no later than 
January 4, 2012. If there is time at the end of each Webinar, the 
Webinar will open for questions from participants. Since the Early 
Stage SBIC rule is in the proposed rulemaking stage, SBA will not be 
able to answer questions that are outside the scope of the proposed 
rule. All participants are encouraged to submit comments regarding the 
proposed rule at www.regulations.gov/#!documentDetail;D=SBA-2011-0023-
0001.

Sean Greene,
Associate Administrator for Investment and Special Advisor for 
Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2011-33044 Filed 12-27-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8025-01-P