; (2) increase prospects for success for small business concerns in underserved communities, which often suffer from higher business failure rates than the national average; (3) help create a pipeline for small business concerns in underserved and rural markets into high-growth sectors, where they are generally underrepresented; (4) help address the multi-decade decline in the rate of new business creation; (5) close the gaps that underserved small business concerns often have in terms of revenue and number of employees, which represent lost opportunity for the economy; and (6) encourage collaboration between the Small Business Administration and institutions of higher learning that serve low-income and minority communities. 4. Innovation Centers Program (a) In general The Small Business Act ( 15 U.S.C. 631 et seq.) is amended— (1) by redesignating section 49 as section 50; and (2) by inserting after section 48 the following: 49. Innovation Centers Program (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Accelerator The term accelerator means an organization— (A) that— (i) works with a startup or growing small business concern for a predetermined period; and (ii) provides mentorship and instruction to scale businesses; and (B) that may— (i) provide, but is not exclusively designed to provide, seed investment in exchange for a small amount of equity; and (ii) offer startup capital or the opportunity to raise capital from outside investors. (2) Federally recognized area of economic distress The term federally recognized area of economic distress means— (A) a HUBZone; or (B) an area that has been designated as— (i) an empowerment zone under section 1391 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; (ii) a Promise Zone by the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; or (iii) a low-income neighborhood or moderate-income neighborhood for purposes of the Community Reinvestment Act of 1977 ( 12 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). (3) Growing; newly established