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2012 Highlights

2012

Highest Level of Performance

In fiscal year 2012, MBDA helped create and retain 16,730 jobs, the highest level in the 44 year history of the Agency.  Return on taxpayer investment, the Agency's primary measure of internal operating efficiency, was 126x in fiscal year 2012. This was achieved by helping MBDA clients obtain over $3.6 billion in contracts and capital awards.

Fiscal year 2012 anchors an Obama Administration total of $14.6 billion in contracts and capital for MBDA clients, making this the highest 4-year performance in the history of the Agency. This performance represents a full 108 percent increase in contracts and capital awarded to MBDA clients over the prior 4-year period.

» Download Annual Performance Report

 

Agency-wide Restructuring

In fiscal year 2012, MBDA completed an Agency-wide restructuring that began three years earlier. This restructuring allowed the Agency to centralize operations in Washington, DC and transition to a new operating model that is MBDA Business Center-focused and global in scope.

» MBDA Realigns Regional Office Structure to Enhance Support and Resources for Minority-Owned Businesses

 

Expanded Service Locations

During 2012, the Agency grew its network of MBDA Business Centers by opening locations in: Anchorage, Alaska; Fresno, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bismarck, North Dakota; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Memphis, Tennessee. The opening of these Centers also signaled the completion of the Agency's consolidation of three distinct programs into a single, nationally networked program.

The new program eliminates geographic boundaries, giving clients the opportunity to seek support from any MBDA Business Center they choose and offers expertise in specific industries and export markets.

 

Greater Collaboration between the Department of Commerce and the Government of Brazil

As part of the Agency's ongoing global efforts, National Director Hinson traveled to Brasilia and Sao Paulo to meet with senior government officials and key business leaders in August of 2012. The purpose of his trip was to discuss how U.S. firms can take greater advantage of commercial opportunities in Brazil as a result of the upcoming World Cup and Olympics. The visit was held in conjunction with the technical meeting of the U.S.-Brazil Joint Action Plan, a high-level bilateral initiative led by the U.S. Department of State.

The initiative seeks to foster greater involvement of the Afro-Brazilian community in the vast economic opportunities that exist throughout the country. Director Hinson has since developed an innovative framework for greater collaboration between the Department of Commerce and the Government of Brazil, designed to lead to greater market access for MBDA clients and export-ready firms.

» MBDA National Director Hinson Speaks at Business Roundtable in Brazil
» MBDA National Director Hinson Supports Global Initiatives in Brazil
» MBDA National Director Hinson and U.S. Government Delegation Trip to Brazil

 

MBDA Strengthens Relationship with OPIC to Support Greater Export Activity

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) works with the private sector to help U.S. businesses gain footholds in emerging markets and to create export-related jobs. OPIC provides investors with financing, guarantees, political risk insurance, and support for private equity investment funds.

For many years MBDA has worked closely with OPIC to connect its clients with the resources offered by OPIC. MBDA formalized its longstanding relationship with OPIC through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to jointly promote projects that increase the opportunities for MBDA clients to make use of OPIC products, increase OPIC's outreach to minority-owned businesses, and increase minority participation in OPIC's programs.

Given the connection that the Agency's diaspora-owned businesses already have in their former countries, OPIC delivers the resources and protection necessary to reduce the risk of overseas operations.

 

White House Engagement for Greater Access to Sector Companies

In 2012, MBDA National Director David A. Hinson hosted a White House Business Council Forum on Business in Indian Country. Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank was a key participant and engaged in extensive dialogue with representatives of tribal governments, Native American and Alaska Native business owners.

Dr. Blank addressed three core challenges identified by forum participants—preparing and retaining future leaders and entrepreneurs; raising capital for emerging businesses; and finding domestic and international markets for tribal commodities such as natural resources and agricultural products. In addition, Reta Jo Lewis, Special Representative, Global Intergovernmental Affairs, U.S. Department of State, offered expert guidance on business expansion through exports.

» Young Entrepreneurs, Capital, and Markets Key to Economic Expansion in Indian Country

 

Increased Access to Capital through the Export-Import Bank of the United States

MBDA and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced a Global Outreach Alliance to increase access to capital for minority-owned firms and encourage the participation of MBDA target companies in international markets. The agreement formalized an inter-agency partnership for providing substantial support to minority-owned firms and renewed a joint commitment to increase export revenues of a business sector that has the most favorable export attributes of any sector of the U.S. economy.

More than 85 percent of the Ex-Im Bank's transactions in recent years have been with U.S. small businesses. During FY 2012, the Ex-Im Bank authorized a historically high $838 million to support exports by 685 U.S. medium-sized and small businesses owned by minorities and women.

» Read Press Release

 

MBDA Supports the Growth of U.S. Healthcare Companies

In December of 2012, MBDA and the Healthcare Supplier Diversity Alliance (HSDA) entered into a memorandum of understanding (MOU). This MOU established a partnership to increase access to healthcare procurement opportunities and to serve as a pathway to supply chains of global healthcare corporations.

Additional components of the MOU include participation in the HSDA's Executive Healthcare Certificate Program facilitated in partnership with Rutgers University's Center for Management Development and Novation, a health care supply chain contractor. The program also enables MBDA healthcare industry clients to attend the annual Owens & Minor Supplier Diversity Symposium to network with healthcare supply chain executives and procurement decision makers.

MBDA joins HSDA in promoting the immense value of healthcare supplier diversity, building a stable platform for education, and expanding opportunities for minority-owned businesses. This partnership exemplifies the commitment of the Obama Administration, the Department of Commerce, and MBDA to create greater access for MBDA target companies in emerging and high growth sectors of the healthcare industry.

» Read Press Release

 

Minority Enterprise Development Week Celebrates 30 Years

The National Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week Conference has set the standard as the premier event for minority entrepreneurs, business owners, and advocates. In December, MED Week celebrated its milestone 30th Anniversary with one of the most successful events in the history of the conference.

The event was attended by nearly 1,300 individuals representing a broad range of industries from across the globe. In the State of Commerce Address, Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank opened the conference with inspirational remarks on the growth of the economy and highlighted the crucial role that minority-owned businesses play in exporting and job creation.

Hosted by the Brazilian Ambassador to the U.S.,Mauro Vieira, at the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, DC, a business networking reception was conducted for minority business owners to become familiar with the many opportunities Brazil has to offer.

The conference enabled attendees to delve into industry-focused topics, including advanced manufacturing, government contracting, mergers and acquisitions, and global emerging markets. Conference attendees also had access to MBDA's signature Business-to-Business Expo and one-on one business matchmaking sessions from public and private sector. View Highlights