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About MBDA
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Posted On: Friday May 29th, 2009 at 12:30pm EDT
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The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce. MBDA is the only federal agency created specifically to foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America. MBDA is an entrepreneurially focused and innovative organization committed to wealth creation in minority communities.
MBDA's Mission/Vision
The Agency's mission is to actively promote the growth and competitiveness of large, medium and small minority business enterprises (MBEs). MBDA actively coordinates and leverages public and private-sector resources that facilitate strategic alliances in support of its mission. The vision is to function as an entrepreneurial organization serving entrepreneurs.
How Does MBDA Help Minority Businesses?
MBDA provides funding for a network of Minority Business Development Centers (MBDCs), Native American Business Development Centers (NABDCs), and Business Resource Centers (BRCs) located throughout the Nation. The Centers provide minority entrepreneurs with one-on-one assistance in writing business plans, marketing, management and technical assistance and financial planning to assure adequate financing for business ventures. The Centers are staffed by business specialists who have the knowledge and practical experience needed to run successful and profitable businesses.
What Do Centers Charge for Their Services?
Business referral services are provided free of charge. However, the network generally charges nominal fees for specific management and technical assistance services.
Where Are The Centers Located?
The Centers are located in areas with the largest concentration of minority populations and the largest number of minority businesses. For the address of your nearest MBDC, NABDC, BRC, and MBOC, you can view all of our centers here or you can contact the MBDA Regional Office responsible for operations in your state.
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Strategic Direction
- The long term goal of “achieving entrepreneurial parity for minority business enterprises” is the benchmark by which MBDA’s critical Federal government role will be measured. Although businesses with revenues of $1 million or more constitute just 3% of the overall minority business community, these businesses are responsible for 66% of the total revenues of minority-owned enterprises and 54.4% of employment. In order to promote overall U.S. economic growth, it is critical to promote medium to large businesses enterprises that can have a significant impact on employment and the tax base in their communities.
- Increasing the number of medium and large minority businesses is in the short and long term strategic interest of achieving MBDA’s Vision of wealth creation. In pursuit of entrepreneurial parity, MBDA has established a Strategic Growth Policy. The Strategic Growth Policy is designed to address the issue of sustainable business value for firms of size operating in growth industries.
- Programs focused on providing access to capital and markets will be the prime components of the Strategic Growth Policy.
A new paradigm for minority business development requires that the public and private sectors expand their present focus from outreach, certification, and dollars spent to include enabling minority business enterprises to achieve size, scale, scope, education, access to technology and capital.
Minority business development services must be designed to create sustainable business values. In order to implement the new paradigm, MBDA will develop a more industry focused, data driven technical assistance approach to give minority business owners the tools essential for becoming first or second tier suppliers to corporate America and the Federal government in the new procurement environment.
Sustainable value will translate into entrepreneurial parity and strategic growth through increased gross receipts, number of employees, size and scale of firms associated with minority business enterprise.
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