MBDA Offers $93.5 Million Grant Competition to Support Underserved Entrepreneurs

The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is offering a $93.5m Capital Readiness Program grant competition to help minority, women and other underserved entrepreneurs launch and scale their businesses. Organizations that have not traditionally focused their services on underserved communities are encouraged to form strategic alliances to apply for funding. Up to $3 million will be awarded over four years per grantee.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE ON FEBRUARY 28, 2023. Applicants must submit their applications for funding via grants.gov.

This Program will provide funding to incubators, accelerators, and other eligible organizations to support underserved entrepreneurs with training, resources, tools, and technical assistance to access capital. It is also intended to serve entrepreneurs and businesses that are applying, have applied, or plan to apply to Treasury’s State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI) or other government programs that support small businesses.

Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to jumpstart the next generation of entrepreneurs and build a more resilient economy that’s reflective of all Americans.

The following are categories of organizations eligible to apply for this funding opportunity:

• Non-profit organizations;

• Private sector entities (defined as entities that are not public sector entities). This includes, for example, for-profit entities of any type, including sole-proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies, and corporations, but does not include public sector entities such as Federal, State, Local, or Tribal Governments, agencies, or any of their instrumentalities;
• Institutions of higher education;
• A consortium of two or more of any of the above-mentioned eligible applicants. In a consortium application, there must be a designated lead applicant; the lead applicant would enter into the award agreement with MBDA and assume primary operational and financial responsibility for completing the project should an award be made.

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