New York City’s small-business support network helped launch 336 businesses, steer nearly $41 million into the five boroughs and create or retain more than 9,300 jobs in 2025. The numbers offer a rare look at the behind-the-scenes advisers helping neighborhood businesses survive the city’s famously complicated maze of financing, permits and growth plans.
The figures come from the New York Small Business Development Centers’ 2025 annual impact report, highlighted Monday by amNewYork. Across the five boroughs, SBDC centers advised 4,815 clients and helped generate $40.94 million in funding tied to small-business activity.
Brooklyn And Staten Island Posted The Biggest Job Gains
Brooklyn led New York City in new business starts, with 104, while its SBDC clients created or retained 2,138 jobs and secured nearly $9.74 million in funding, according to the New York SBDC report. Staten Island recorded fewer starts but the largest funding total of the five boroughs at roughly $13.1 million, along with 2,332 jobs created or retained.
Manhattan clients accounted for 54 business starts, 1,988 jobs and nearly $6.88 million in funding. Queens also recorded 54 starts, while its centers reported 2,019 jobs and about $6.54 million in funding; the Bronx posted 72 starts, 835 jobs and nearly $4.68 million in funding.
Free Advisers Give Entrepreneurs A Longer Runway
The New York SBDC network provides no-cost, confidential one-on-one advising, training and research, with 20 regional centers and more than 70 satellite offices statewide, according to the New York SBDC. The centers are funded through a mix of federal, state, regional and private support, including the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The network is also adding a new foothold in Upper Manhattan. The City College of New York opened a regional SBDC at its campus, becoming the fifth CUNY college to host one and offering business advising and training to entrepreneurs across Upper Manhattan, CCNY announced.
A Bushwick Candle Shop Shows How The Help Can Work
One of the report’s featured clients is Nose Best Candles, a Bushwick retail shop founded by Brittany Furnani and Cristian Abbrancati after the pair turned a pandemic hobby into a storefront. With help from Pace SBDC advisers, the business secured $40,000 split between a $20,000 NYC Opportunity Loan Fund loan and a $20,000 New York Seed Grant, according to the SBDC client profile.
Statewide, the 2025 report says New York SBDC advisers helped with 1,264 new business starts, more than 34,500 jobs created or retained and over $215 million in funding impact. Those figures are the network’s own reported outcomes rather than an independent estimate of what would have happened without its counseling, but they show the scale of a public small-business system that is often less visible than the businesses it helps keep open.
