An entity licensed by the Small Business Administration to finance small businesses. In 1993, the Small Business Investment Act authorized the SBA to grant special SSBIC licenses to those investment companies that facilitated ownership of businesses by disadvantaged taxpayers. Congress subsequently repealed this provision, but SSBIC licenses issued before September 30, 1996, were not revoked. A recent SBA report listed approximately 60 active SSBICs.

See a related article elsewhere on this website.