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MBDA Helps Minority-Owned Businesses Win the Future

Workers installing solar panels on reservation building

Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is enabling job creation and growth within minority-owned companies as they expand through innovation and untapped resources. MBDA has 50 business development centers and regional offices throughout the country and is preparing to open its newest business center in Cleveland, Ohio, in September to continue to create an environment for support, technical training and access to capital, contracts and to markets for business owners there.

Knowing that many jobs of the 21st century will be in clean and renewable energy, green technology, and Healthcare IT, the MBDA Business Centers are reaching out to minority-owned firms so they can expand into those new areas and keep communities strong and workers employed.

For example, MBDA client Sacred Power Corporation Inc. based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a Native-American-owned renewable and distributive energy manufacturer. Sacred Power operates on the principle that “the world in which we live can change its current direction and dependence on polluting energy sources and convert to renewable technologies that provide clean, long-term solutions to today’s energy problems.”

Sacred Power is the largest Native-American-owned renewable energy company in the U.S., and has received numerous contracts, including a $500,000 federal grant to build and install self-sustaining solar electricity systems for homes without power in remote areas of the Navajo Nation. In providing renewable electricity to its customers, the company employs a diverse workforce.

Sacred Power is one example of the many MBDA clients that is turning entrepreneurship into job creation. Dave Scott Melton, a Sacred Power principal, is a Laguna Tribal member and has more than 15 years of experience in high-tech industry. Melton credits MBDA with assisting his business financing and bonding. “MBDA assisted us along the whole timeline of business development,” Melton said.

MBDA plays a key role in helping minority-owned companies identify resources that will help them take their business to the next level.

Last year, MBDA assisted minority firms in securing nearly $4 billion in financing opportunities and contracts while creating 6,400 new jobs that help to stimulate local economies.

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Exporting Florid grown Fruit the Mango

My names is Harold: I am looking for names of Foreign Businesses or Distributors to Sell Florida Mangoes to year round. Or any small importer looking to fill orders of Mangoes, a very tasty fruit. Thanks

U.S. Commercial Service

Harold,

Thanks for your comment. The best place to look for help on exporting is through the U.S. Commercial Service. You can contact them here - http://trade.gov/cs/

Stop racial biasness

How many African Americans are allowed to take advantage of your programs? What are you doing for poverty striken communities?

MBDA programs

The Minority Business Development Agency:
*funds a network of centers throughout the United States, assisting minority entrepreneurs:
*secures financial capital.
*identifies and accesses opportunities.
*categorizes immediate and long-term business needs.
*provide group and one on one training and education.
and is staffed by business specialists who have the knowledge and practical experience needed to run successful and profitable businesses.

Since 2009, MBDA has has helped minority-owned firms gain access to $7 billion in contracts. The firms are located within urban centers and rural communities.