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October 2026

Incentives, Grants & Opportunities

SEPTEMBER - WINDOW 2026 WINDOW

SBA FY2027 Fee Relief: 0% Upfront Guaranty Fee for Manufacturers, Food Supply Chain and Rural Businesses (starts Oct. 1)

SBA's FY2027 fee notices waive the upfront guaranty fee on 7(a) loans of $700,000 or less for three groups: manufacturers (NAICS 31–33), specified food supply chain businesses, and businesses in rural areas. On 504 loans for the same groups, SBA waives both the upfront fee and the annual service fee. For everyone else, 7(a) upfront fees range from 2% to 3.75% of the guaranteed portion, depending on loan size. The relief covers loans approved from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Because the fee is charged when the loan is approved, borrowers who qualify get the savings immediately.



Effective: Oct. 1, 2026 – Sept. 30, 2027

Amount: 0% upfront fee on 7(a) loans ≤$700K; full fee waiver on 504 loans for eligible borrowers

Eligibility: NAICS 31–33 manufacturers, specified food supply chain NAICS codes, and rural-area businesses (rural status is determined in SBA's E-Tran system)

Learn More: SBA Info Notice 5000-881797 (7(a) FY2027 fees)

DDEC Capital Semilla: Up to $35,000 for Established PyMEs (Open Now, Rolling)

DDEC's seed capital program gives up to $15,000 to PyMEs (small and medium businesses) that are three years old or younger, and up to $35,000 to those older than three years. The money can cover equipment, machinery, rent, software, licenses, payroll, marketing, website development and trade event participation. A PyME is defined as a business with $3M or less in average sales and 25 or fewer employees, and many PRMSDC-certified firms fit that definition.

Deadline: Rolling, while funds last

Amount: Up to $15,000 (≤3 years old) or $35,000 (>3 years old)

PR Eligibility: Puerto Rico–based PyMEs

Learn More: desarrollo.pr.gov/ayudas-e-incentivos

DDEC Recuperación Económica: Up to $10,000 for PyMEs Hit by Water Outages

DDEC is reimbursing small businesses hurt by water service interruptions since June 1. Eligible costs include cisterns, backup equipment, potable water, water truck rental and lost inventory. The award depends on annual sales: $2,500 (up to $175K), $5,000 (up to $350K), $7,500 (up to $700K) or $10,000 (up to $1M). About $3M was still available as of Aug. 31.



Deadline: Open while funds last; no end date published

Amount: $2,500–$10,000

PR Eligibility: 25 or fewer employees, sales of $1M or less, located in an affected municipality (including San Juan, Bayamón, Guaynabo, Carolina, Caguas and Trujillo Alto)

Learn More: desarrollo.pr.gov · premprende@ddec.pr.gov · (787) 758-4747

DDEC Export Incentives: Up to $50,000 for Foreign Marketing and 40% of Export Shipping

DDEC's export promotion programs cover two kinds of costs. Mercadeo al Exterior reimburses 50% of marketing costs abroad, up to $50,000 over 18 months, for firms with up to $10M in sales. Transporte al Exterior covers 40% of export shipping costs, up to $2,000 per shipment and $50,000 a year, for exporters with up to $20M in sales. This pairs well with the SBA export financing news and with the TIDES delegation in November.

Deadline: Rolling

Amount: Up to $50,000 (marketing); up to $50,000 a year (shipping)

Learn More: DDEC Ayudas e Incentivos · promoexport@ddec.pr.gov

October - December 2026

SBA Proposes Raising Size Standards — Which Means Bigger Firms in Your Set-Aside Pool

On August 20, 2026, SBA proposed new size standards for 338 industry groups and industries. The proposal would consolidate standards mainly at the 4- and 5-digit NAICS level (down from nearly 1,000 individual standards), shift some industries from receipts-based to employee-based measures, and generally raise thresholds so more firms qualify as small. Some thresholds would rise as much as tenfold. By SBA's estimate, more than 114,000 additional firms would become eligible for small-business status. SBA has received nearly 70,000 written comments and held a public forum. The comment deadline has been extended to November 20, 2026. SBA Issues Proposed Rules on Industry Size Standards and Revised Size Standards Methodology – Office of Advocacy +4

For a firm that is small today, this is mostly a competition story. Set-aside pools would be open to companies several times larger, with deeper proposal teams and stronger past-performance records. Some mid-sized MBEs that outgrew their standard could regain small status and re-enter set-asides. Every MBE should check its primary NAICS codes against the proposed table now. Firms that would face new, larger competitors have a concrete reason to file a comment before November 20. A comment that uses your firm's own numbers carries more weight than a general objection.

The 8(a) Program Just Changed Its Front Door — and Capacity Now Matters as Much as Eligibility

On August 11, 2026, SBA issued a final rule changing how individuals qualify as "socially disadvantaged" under the 8(a) Business Development Program. Under the rule, which took effect September 10, applicants must certify and submit evidence that a governmental or private entity discriminated against their racial, ethnic or cultural group during their lifetime, and that this caused them material harm. The prior rebuttable presumption for designated groups is gone. SBA is returning pending individually owned applications, and applicants have 45 calendar days from the return date to resubmit. Current 8(a) participants do not have to re-establish social disadvantage, including at future annual reviews. Entity-owned firms (ANCs, Tribes, NHOs, CDCs) are outside the rule. SBA will also prioritize applicants in defense-critical industries and reinstate merit-based "potential for success" reviews. SBA Finalizes Changes to the 8(a) Program's Social Disadvantage Requirements | Inside Government Contracts +5

The rule changes two things at once: how applicants prove eligibility, and how closely SBA examines whether the firm can actually perform. MBEs considering 8(a) should build two files before applying. The first is an evidence file documenting group-level discrimination and the specific harm to the owner. The second is a capacity file covering financials, past performance, and management depth. Puerto Rico manufacturers in defense-adjacent supply chains may benefit from faster processing.

U.S. Small Business Administration final rule, 91 FR 51568 (Aug. 11, 2026), effective Sept. 10, 2026; SBA guidance issued Sept. 10, 2026.

Your Chatbot Is Becoming Your Brand (HBR, Nov–Dec 2026)

In the forthcoming November–December issue, Harvard Business School professor Julian De Freitas argues that as AI chatbots become customers' primary interface with companies, relationship management is shifting from a marketing challenge to a product design challenge, with customers increasingly experiencing the chatbot as the brand itself. His prescription is to stop focusing only on what the bot can do and instead design and govern the relationship life cycle: defining the chatbot's role, adapting interactions to customer needs, calibrating the appropriate level of intimacy, and repairing trust when expectations are violated. Harvard Business ReviewHarvard Business Review

For MBEs this is a low-cost differentiator. Before you put an AI assistant on your website or WhatsApp line, write one page that states what it is for, what it will never answer, when it hands off to a person, and how customer data is handled. When a corporate buyer's first contact with your firm is a bot, a clear, honest, well-scoped assistant signals operational maturity. A generic one signals risk. Test it the way a procurement officer would before you launch it.

De Freitas, "Your Chatbot Will Define Your Brand," Harvard Business Review, Nov–Dec 2026.

Your Next Buyer May Be an AI Agent (BCG, Aug 2026)

BCG reports that corporate procurement is moving from AI assistants to autonomous agents. An AI sourcing agent could continuously monitor demand, supplier pricing, logistics disruptions, inventory, and exchange rates, automatically triggering sourcing events and supplier outreach, and escalating to human buyers only for exceptions or strategic tradeoffs. BCG estimates that agentic AI can free up about 60% of a procurement staff's time. BCGBoston Consulting Group

This means the first screen of your firm may be done by software, not a person. Keep your supplier data complete, current, and consistent across every buyer portal and your NMSDC certification profile: NAICS codes, capacity, certifications, insurance, and on-time delivery performance. A missing field can quietly remove you from a sourcing event. Human relationships still matter at the escalation and strategic-choice stage, so invest in both: clean data to pass the machine and trusted contacts for the decisions it passes up.

BCG, "AI-First Procurement: How Autonomous Agents Drive Competitive Advantage," Aug 2026.

(Federal Register / U.S. Commerce) — Pharma Tariffs Hit All Remaining Companies Sept. 29, 2026

Proclamation 11020 imposed a 100% tariff on certain imported patented pharmaceuticals and their ingredients, effective July 31, 2026.

Insights for PR-based businesses:

• Tariffs on imported product strengthen the case for domestic production, and PR's existing GMP sites and supplier base are positioned for new tier opportunities in packaging, validation, logistics, and QA/QC.
• Local distributors and pharmacies face cost exposure. Puerto Rico imported about $3.25 billion in pharmaceutical preparations, generics, and bioequivalents in 2025.

🔍 Read More (Federal Register): federalregister.gov

Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 183 (Wednesday, September 23, 2026) +2

Vicapsys–Stateline Merger Builds a PR-Based Pharma Platform Aimed at Federal Markets

On September 23, 2026, Vicapsys Life Sciences (OTC: VICP) announced it had completed its reverse merger with Stateline Distributors of Puerto Rico, effective September 3. It also signed an agreement to acquire the FDA-approved NitroMist® (nitroglycerin) product. The combined company pairs licensed wholesale distribution and federal contracting access with its own branded products. After a planned facility acquisition, it would add in-house manufacturing. It plans to serve rural, tribal, Indian Health Service, VA, Department of Defense, and Puerto Rico markets, and to convert and requalify a PR facility for liquid and injectable manufacturing.

Insights for PR-based businesses:

• A PR-made product sold into federal channels on the mainland counts as an outbound shipment. Restoring and requalifying the facility would create demand for local contractors in validation, construction, QA/QC, packaging, and logistics.
• Federal and tribal channels often have small-business and minority-business teaming structures, which is a possible entry point for PRMSDC-certified firms.

🔍 Read More (BioSpace): biospace.com

Company press releases, Sept. 23 and 25, 2026.

📩 iharrington@prmsdc.org | 📞787-705-7756

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