Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is awarding nearly $1 million to promote minority women entrepreneurs who are engines of economic growth in their communities.
“Minority women are the fastest growing population of entrepreneurs. While many women are making tremendous strides in the business world, they still face obstacles as entrepreneurs,” said MBDA National Director Henry Childs, II. “MBDA has and will continue to advocate for growing women’s economic opportunities to empower women across the country to reach their economic potential.”
Since 2007, women of color have started businesses at an unmatched rate. While the number of women-owned businesses grew 58 percent from 2007 to 2018, firms owned by women of color grew at nearly three times that rate. An estimated 5,824,300 women-of-color-owned businesses employ 2,230,600 people and generate $386.6 billion in revenue. Beyond the growing number of business enterprises, women reinvest approximately 90 percent of their earnings into their family and their communities, creating a unique multiplier.
The grant recipients include:
- Walker’s Legacy ($400,000) to address specific needs of the minority women entrepreneurs including access to capital, business education, and professional networks.
- El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce ($400,000) to connect minority women-owned business clients across the country with financing, contract and export opportunities, and provide them with valuable business development consulting.
These programs are part of the 2018 MBDA Broad Agency Announcement, a new initiative this year. More than $13 million was awarded for 35 projects focused on Department of Commerce and MBDA priorities from resources that increase disaster preparedness and relief to programs that increase access to capital. For a full listing of MBDA’s 2018 grant awards, visit www.mbda.gov/news.
About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
MBDA, www.mbda.gov, is the only Federal agency dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority-owned businesses through the mobilization and advancement of public and private sector programs, policy, and research. Our services provide greater access to capital, contracts, and markets and better equip minority-owned firms to create jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues and expand regionally, nationally and internationally.