A Record Year MBDA

The numbers are in and the report is out! Last month, the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) released its Annual Performance Report for Fiscal Year 2012 and we are proud to report that FY 2012 was another successful year for the Minority Business Development Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and most importantly for the American business owners that we serve. In FY 2012, MBDA helped create and retain 16,730 jobs, the highest level in the 44-year history of the Agency. This was achieved by helping MBDA clients obtain over $3.6 billion in contracts and capital awards.

In 2012, the agency increased services to minority business owners by adding new MBDA Business Centers in Anchorage, Alaska; Fresno, California; Santa Fe, New Mexico; Bismarck, North Dakota; Tulsa, Oklahoma; and Memphis, Tennessee. In addition, MBDA expanded coverage at select MBDA Business Centers to provide specialty expertise nationwide with the launch of the agency’s Federal Procurement Center – the first of its type – in Washington, DC; the Export Support Business Center located at the University of Texas at San Antonio; and the Atlanta MBDA Business Center that serves as the Advanced Manufacturing and Healthcare Technology Business Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

As we look ahead, MBDA will maintain jobs created and retained by clients as its key measurement of performance; however, a new Agency goal will focus on creating and retaining those jobs by generating international contract opportunities. Currently exporting to over 60 nations, minority-owned firms possess skills and relationships that make them one of the most effective exporters in the United States. In FY 2012, MBDA’s export support resulted in nearly $100 million in export transactions, and we plan to generate over $1 billion in international contract opportunities over the next five years.

I applaud our MBDA Business Center operators and staff for another year of outstanding performance. FY 2012 anchors an Obama Administration total of $14.6 billion in contract and capital for MBDA clients, making this the highest 4-year performance in the history of the Agency.

More details about the MBDA’s performance, including the sizes and industries of firms assisted, sources of contracts and capital, and state-level performance and export data, can be found in the full report on the Agency’s website.