Federal funding will expand MBDA Business Centers to new locations in Alabama, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia
WASHINGTON (September 9, 2021) — The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is awarding $13.9 million in federal funding to 35 grant recipients as part of its MBDA Business Center Program.
The program is designed to help minority-owned firms create jobs, compete in the global economy and grow their businesses.
“The Biden Administration is firmly committed to helping minority-owned businesses of all sizes grow, prosper, and compete in the global economy,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo.
“Minority-owned businesses are essential to a vibrant economy and MBDA Business Centers have been an invaluable resource for so many of them throughout the country. I am thrilled to expand MBDA’s footprint to new locations across the country and do our part to ensure minority entrepreneurs have access to resources they need.”
According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 9.2 million minority-owned firms in the U.S. employ over 8 million American workers and pump $1.7 trillion dollars into the American economy, with minority women-owned businesses now the fastest rising group within the spectrum of entrepreneurial effort.
These Awards will add nine (9) new MBDA Business Centers and expand coverage of the national network of MBDA Business Centers from twenty-seven (27) to thirty-five (35) locations across the country.
“The MBDA Business Centers are results-driven business development resources that advance the interests of minority business enterprises,” said Miguel Estién, Acting National Director of the Minority Business Development Agency.
“The new program expands the network to include locations in Alabama, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, North Carolina, New Jersey, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia, with all locations having an increased focus on capacity building services to create greater access to capital, contracts and markets.”
MBDA Business Center grant recipients include:
Alabama: Walker’s Legacy ($375,000)
Arizona: Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ($400,000)
California (Los Angeles): Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment ($410,000)
California (Sacramento): California Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce ($410,000)
California (San Jose): Asian, Inc. ($410,000)
Colorado: Rocky Mountain Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. ($400,000)
Florida (Miami): Gill & Associates ($410,000)
Florida (Orlando): 3-D Strategic Management ($410,000)
Georgia: Georgia Tech Research Corporation ($400,000)
Hawaii: University of Hawaii ($410,000)
Illinois: Strategic Exception Pro Consortium ($400,000)
Louisiana: Southern University and A&M College ($375,000)
Maryland: L.S. Caldwell & Associates ($400,000)
Massachusetts: Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council ($410,000)
Michigan: Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council ($400,000)
Minnesota: Metropolitan Economic Development Association ($375,000)
Mississippi: Tri-County Contractors, Inc. ($375,000)
Missouri: Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council ($375,000)
Nevada: CPLC Nevada, Inc. ($400,000)
New Jersey: The Enterprise Center ($400,000)
New Mexico: The City of Albuquerque ($375,000)
New York (Bronx): South Bronx OLIM Lifestyle Management, LLC ($415,000)
New York (Manhattan): Business Outreach Network ($415,000)
North Carolina: North Carolina Dept. of Administration Office for Historically Underutilized Businesses ($385,000)
Ohio: Economic Growth Foundation ($385,000)
Oklahoma: Rural Enterprise of Oklahoma ($375,000)
Pennsylvania: The Enterprise Center ($400,000)
Puerto Rico: Asociación Productos De Puerto Rico, Inc. ($415,000)
Tennessee: Mid-South Minority Council TADP, Inc. ($375,000)
Texas (Dallas): Dallas Minority Supplier Development Council ($410,000)
Texas (El Paso): El Paso Chamber of Commerce ($410,000)
Texas (Houston): Houston Community College ($410,000)
Texas (San Antonio): The University of Texas at San Antonio ($410,000)
Virginia: Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council, Inc. ($400,000)
Washington: City of Tacoma ($400,000)
The five-year grants will run through June 30, 2026, with annual awards in the amounts listed. For the latest information on MBDA programs and announcements, please visit www.MBDA.gov.
About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency is the only Federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority business enterprises (MBEs). For more than 50 years, MBDA’s programs and services have better equipped MBEs to create jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues, and expand regionally, nationally, and internationally.
