(a) The General Assembly finds that:
(1) the inability of socially or economically disadvantaged individuals to obtain working capital is a major limitation on their opportunity to win and perform government and other contracts;
(2) because socially or economically disadvantaged individuals frequently have been awarded government or other contracts but have lacked the working capital to post a bond, buy supplies needed to begin the work, or pay employees, these individuals have been unable to accept the contracts;
(3) some individuals are unable to obtain government and other contracts for reasons other than the cost to the owner or the ability to perform the contract work competently;
(4) socially or economically disadvantaged individuals frequently lack adequate capital to sustain and expand their businesses and to hire and train employees;
(5) because high risk, problem, or uncollectible loans are not in the interest of financial institutions, financial institutions generally are reluctant to lend money to socially or economically disadvantaged individuals with insufficient records of performance;
(6) the inability of businesses owned by socially or economically disadvantaged individuals to obtain long-term financing is a major limitation on their opportunity to survive and expand; and
(7) the public welfare is served by promoting the viability and expansion of businesses owned by economically or socially disadvantaged individuals, retaining or increasing the employment of these individuals, and expanding the taxable base of the economy of the State.
(b) The purposes of the Authority are:
(1) to assist socially or economically disadvantaged individuals to obtain adequate working capital to begin, continue, and complete projects, the majority of funding for which is provided by government entities or utilities;
(2) to encourage socially or economically disadvantaged individuals to seek government and other contracts;
(3) to encourage financial institutions to make loans to these individuals; and
(4) to assist small businesses that are unable to obtain adequate business financing on reasonable terms through normal financing channels because the businesses do not meet the established credit criteria of financial institutions.