MIAMI.- The undersecretary of the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), Eric Morrissette, visiting Miami, chaired the panel “Investing in our communities” that took place at the headquarters of the public-private organization Miami-Dade Beacon Council, to raise awareness of resources available to minority businesses.
Representatives from federal agencies participated in the discussion, which took place on Wednesday, June 5, and presented the broad spectrum of programs, resources and funds available to the minority business community.
Senator Annette Taddeo served as master of ceremonies for the hundred business owners present on the panel.
According to Morrissette, the federal government has several billion dollars to help minority businesses scale, “to help them incubate and accelerate their ventures.”
“We are interested in encouraging small businesses to be successful,” he said.
Leopoldo Martínez, MBDA advisor and panelist at the event, said that the job of that federal agency is to ensure that minority entrepreneurs participate in the Department of Commerce’s acquisition process.
In his speech, Martínez mentioned that he is in charge of using the available resources to help those people who try to export. He also referred to the possibility of providing access to financing for commercial purposes.
According to Martínez, MBDA has four export centers in the United States: Miami, San Antonio (Texas), Houston (Texas) and Phoenix (Arizona). “Each hub can help navigate the complexities and get the connections needed for businesses to access capital, knowledge of regulations and achieve “export ready” status for both products and services.”
The potential is enormous, “how many Latin American governments are interested in cybersecurity services.”
Businesses that use these centers can also benefit from the Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) signed with different international trade agencies. “Even if an exporter needs to lend money to the buyer of their products in another country, so that they can purchase their products or services, we can do it. “We work with multilateral organizations and we have the ability to follow the money,” he added.
For his part, Tyar Redus, from the Office of Small & Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBU), mentioned that they are the largest contractor with the federal government. “We encourage small businesses owned by women, veterans and people with disabilities to participate in the US Department of Commerce procurement process.”
He urged the business owners mentioned to write to (email protected) and get interested. “Tell us what your capabilities are, what businesses you have, how you want to partner and if you are certified.” She emphasized the amount of resources available.
The person in charge of the MBDA programs in Miami is María Gill, all the panelists agreed. “She is the gateway to these programs.” You can contact us through www.miamimbdacenter.com and www.mbdaexport.com. “She can help them take the right steps to navigate the path and benefit from the resources available,” Redus concluded.
Javier Jorge, one of the businessmen participating in the event, said that he thought it was phenomenal. “There are so many resources that most people don’t know about or know what to do to find and use them. It takes a lot of effort, but they exist.”
According to the Florida Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, there are about 600,000 Hispanic-owned businesses in the state.
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