MBDA Gulf Coast Resiliency Efforts

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) understands that minority businesses are an essential element in the economic engine of local communities. MBDA remains the only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of our nation’s eight million minority business enterprises (MBEs).

In response to the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourist Opportunities, and Revived Economies of the Gulf Coast States Act (RESTORE Act), MBDA has promoted inter-agency collaboration with other Department of Commerce bureaus to ensure that the federal response prioritizes long-term recovery efforts to help revitalize the minority business community in the region. In partnership with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this engagement will expand MBDA services and programs to the business communities that were most impacted by the BP Oil Spill.

In addition, MBDA has an established presence and network in the region that can be leveraged to focus available resources on the Gulf Coast business community. Over time, these efforts will contribute to the Gulf Coast’s ecological and economic revitalization. Additionally, these resources will empower the workers and citizens of the Gulf Coast to reinstitute the relationships, infrastructures and networks that can be sustained over several decades.

In order to revitalize the local economies in the five Gulf Coast states, MBDA must engage and inform our key stakeholders and the minority business community about the RESTORE Act policies and guidelines; and other available resources. MBDA’s goal is to disseminate accurate information to the minority business community about the RESTORE Act, the comprehensive plans of the federal and state RESTORE councils, available funding opportunities, and the business development services available through the MBDA Gulf Coast Business Centers and Networks.

MBDA will focus on the following activities to support the growth of the minority-owned businesses in the Gulf Coast region. MBDA’s goals are to:

Engage minority entrepreneurs in rebuilding the Gulf Coast, and surrounding economies, such as of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas.
Grow existing MBEs in size and scale in order to lower unemployment rates, increase GDP and minimize disparities among larger firms.
Target, attract and retain high growth industries by integrating minority-business enterprises in supply chains.
Work with minority Chambers of Commerce and Bankers Associations to help minority entrepreneurs gain access to the capital needed to grow in size and scale.
Create training/retraining programs in partnership with local universities for those individuals and groups whose current vocations are no longer feasible.
Develop a body of research which addresses the specific needs of minority-owned businesses in the Gulf Coast region.
Advance the growth of minority-owned banks by promoting the deposit of RESTORE Act recovery funding in these financial institutions.
Assess the trends in minority population growth and how their differences in culture, language and norms will affect, for example, labor markets and entrepreneurship.