Under a President Hillary Clinton, young small-business owners could get some relief from their student loans.

The Democratic front-runner unveiled a plan Tuesday afternoon that would allow young entrepreneurs to defer their federal student loan payments for up to three years while they build their businesses. During that three-year period, interest would also stop building on the loans. To qualify for the program, borrowers would need to prove they’ve started a new venture, likely by showing articles of incorporation that they’ve filed with state officials. Borrowers who start new businesses in distressed communities would be eligible for up to $17,500 in student loan forgiveness after five years under Clinton’s plan.

The entrepreneurship initiative is part of a broader technology program Clinton announced Tuesday in Denver, which includes investing in science, technology, engineering and math education and connecting more households to the internet.

“Let’s make it easier for young people to become entrepreneurs,” Clinton said during a speech at Galvanize, a chain of co-working and education facilities, according to prepared remarks. “I’ve talked to a lot of people in the field, and starting out can be daunting. There’s a lot of risk, even if you’ve got a good idea – how you translate that into a business, how you grow that business, how you make a living from it. “

While the rise of wunderkind startup founders like Facebook (FB) Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg has given today’s young people a reputation for having an entrepreneurial spirit, the reality is that many struggle to start businesses. In 1989, 10.6% of households headed by someone under 30 owned stakes in private companies, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Federal Reserve data. In 2013, that share dropped to just 3.6%.

“At a time when we have seen such an incredible proliferation of new technology that should be making entrepreneurship easier for young people to pursue we’re seeing that the financial barriers these young people are facing actually outweigh these new tools that should be unleashing entrepreneurship,” said Colin Seeberger, the strategic campaigns advisor at Young Invincibles, a nonpartisan millennial advocacy organization.

Student debt may be in part to blame for the fall off in small business formation. A 2015 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found a correlation between rising student debt and falling entrepreneurship. That data is backed up by millennials themselves. Nearly 40% of young people who are interested in starting a business say their student loan payments affect their ability to do so, according to a poll conducted by Young Invincibles earlier this year.

Critics of Clinton’s proposal say using the student loan system is a misguided way to prop up young entrepreneurs. Matthew Chingos, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a non-partisan think tank, wrote in a blog post Tuesday that Clinton’s plan would end up giving a bigger subsidy to borrowers with the highest loan amounts because they’ll be saving the most on the interest deferral. He also noted that government programs, which allow borrowers to pay their loans according to their income, could be a way for small business owners to manage their payments while they get their companies off the ground.

“There is nothing inherently wrong with subsidizing certain sectors of the economy — whether struggling nonprofits or Silicon Valley startups,” Chingos wrote. “But policymakers should do so directly, such as through tax credits, rather than through the student loan system.”

Clinton’s announcement comes as she courts young supporters of her Democratic rival Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), many of whom were drawn to the senator because of his support for free college. Clinton has also used her position on student debt to differentiate herself from Republican nominee Donald Trump. In a recent speech, Clinton said of Trump: “The self-proclaimed ‘king of debt’ has no real ideas for making college more affordable or addressing the student debt crisis.”

Though Trump has yet to announce a formal college affordability plan, campaign staffers have suggested that as president he wouldn’t adopt a free college or debt forgiveness plans. Instead, he would lessen the government’s involvement with student loans and college affordability.

Clinton unveiled a $350 billion college affordability plan last year, which would allow all students to attend a public university debt-free.