UTSA’s Institute for Economic Development’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center San Antonio created approximately 1,500 jobs from 2015-2016 through their work with minority entrepreneurs and business owners.
SAN ANTONIO, October 6, 2016 – The UTSA Institute for Economic Development’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center San Antonio returned from the MBDA 2016 National Training Conference hosted in Denver, CO with two excellence awards including “Century Club Outstanding Performance” and “Highest National Number of Jobs Created.”
Located at The University of Texas Institute for Economic Development, the MBDA San Antonio Business Center is part of a nationwide network of 40 MBDA Business Centers that assist minority entrepreneurs and business owners with consulting services, contract and financing opportunities, bonding and certification services, building business-to-business alliances, global/ teaming/joint venture opportunities, and executive training. The Center primarily works with established minority-owned businesses that have at least $1 million in annual revenues and are seeking rapid growth. The Business Center also includes a global component that connects domestic minority-owned business clients with commercial opportunities across the globe. The award from the National Minority Business Development Agency signifies the outreach and positive impact of the MBDA SA Business Center.
“Receiving these two national awards clearly exemplifies the University’s commitment to the minority business community and allows our clients to continue to grow in the domestic and global marketplace. We are very proud to have the MBDA Business Center for 34 years here are at UTSA,” said Orestes Hubbard, director of the MBDA Business Center San Antonio.
Following the conference, the Business Center was also notified of a five-year $1.25 million grant award from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Project that will offer minority businesses specialized advanced manufacturing programs and provide technical and business development services. This funding award is in addition to another five-year $1.25 million grant to support an MBDA Exporting Project, which will support minority business enterprises to engage and/or expand exporting. In addition, the services provided will assist clients in creating and retaining jobs.
The MBDA Business Center San Antonio will also host its 34th Annual Minority Enterprise Development Week (MED Week) from October 14-20, 2016 at the Norris Conference Center in San Antonio. For more information about MED Week 2016, visit www.samedweek.org and to learn more about the MBDA San Antonio Business Center, visit www.sanantoniombdacenter.com
About UTSA’s Institute for Economic Development
The UTSA Institute for Economic Development (IED) is dedicated to growing businesses, creating jobs, and fostering economic development. The IED focuses on building the economy one business at a time.
The IED consists of 11 centers and programs that provide professional business advising, technical training, research, and strategic planning for entrepreneurs, business owners and community leaders. These programs serve Greater San Antonio, the Texas-Mexico border area as well as regional, national and international stakeholders. Together with the federal, state and local governments, and private businesses, the UTSA Institute for Economic Development fosters economic and community development in support of UTSA’s community engagement mission. In 2015 the IED generated direct regional economic impact of 8,251 jobs, started 657 new businesses, $487 million in new financing, $41.5 million in new tax revenue and exceeded $2.1 billion in new sales, exports and contracts. For more information, visit www.iedtexas.org
About UTSA
The University of Texas at San Antonio is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Texas and one of nine academic universities and six health institutions in the UT System. As a multicultural institution, UTSA aims to be a national research university providing access to educational excellence and preparing citizen leaders for the global environment.
UTSA serves nearly 29,000 students in 162 degree programs in the colleges of Architecture, Business, Education and Human Development, Engineering, Honors, Liberal and Fine Arts, Public Policy, Sciences and Graduate School. Founded in 1969, UTSA is an intellectual and creative resource center and a socioeconomic development catalyst for Texas and beyond. For more information, visit www.utsa.edu/today.
