Minority Business Development Agency Awards $3.9M to Serve Indigenous Community

Washington, DC, Nov. 23, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce's Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) awarded $3.9 million in federal funding to thirteen (13) grant recipients to establish MBDA American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian (AIANNH) projects. To support Tribal and native business growth, the AIANNH Projects aim to address one or more of three strategic initiatives: innovation and entrepreneurship (e.g., business trainings, incubators, coaching); strategic planning (e.g., entrepreneurial and economic development); and/or transformative projects (e.g., infrastructure focused public-private partnerships, and broadband).

"Minority business enterprises in Tribal communities are a critical component of the U.S. economy," said MBDA Acting National Director Miguel Estién. "These programs are investments in community institutions and organizations who will provide Native entrepreneurs with the assistance they need to be competitive and grow their businesses."

The MBDA AIANNH Projects are two-year grants, each recipient receiving $300,000 per year. Recipients include:

MBDA American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian projects:

• Alaska: Cook Inlet Tribal Council, Inc
• Arizona: Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Arizona: National Center for American Indian Enterprise Development
• California: Asian, Inc
• Montana: Native American Development Corporation
• Montana: Salish Kootenai College
• Oklahoma: Rural Enterprises of Oklahoma, Inc
• Oklahoma: Oregon Native American Business Entrepreneurial Network
• Oregon: Oregon Native American Chamber
• New Mexico: Southwest Business Development Consultants, LLC
• New Mexico: Regents of New Mexico State University
• Michigan: Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
• Washington: South Puget Intertribal Planning

For the latest information on MBDA programs and announcements, please visit www.MBDA.gov.

About the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)

The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development Agency is the only Federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority business enterprises (MBEs). For more than 50 years, MBDA's programs and services have better equipped MBEs to create jobs, build scale and capacity, increase revenues, and expand regionally, nationally, and internationally.

Antavia F. Grimsley
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA)
agrimsley1@MBDA.gov