Donald R. Cravins Jr., Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development, announced the formation of a congressionally mandated national business advisory council to promote the growth of minority-owned businesses across the U.S. 

Under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) was charged to develop the Minority Business Enterprise Advisory Council. This council will advise and assist MBDA in their mission to promote the growth of minority-owned businesses.

 “The Minority Business Enterprise Advisory Council is a critical lever of MBDA’s role as a leading authority for minority and underserved businesses,” said Cravins. “We have selected nineteen leaders from the public and private sector with proven experience advancing opportunities for the businesses we serve. Their leadership and influence will be invaluable to MBDA’s impact and mission to create a strong, equitable economy that gives every American a shot at building a successful business.” 

The Council comprises nine private sector members and one representative from ten federal agencies that support business formation, labor development, monetary policy, national security, energy, agriculture, transportation, and housing. Members of the Council serve a two-year term and may be reappointed. 

The Council will advise the leadership of the MBDA by serving as a source of knowledge and information on developments in areas of the economic and social life of the U.S. that affect socially or economically disadvantaged business concerns; and provide leadership with information regarding plans, programs, and activities in the public and private sectors related to socially or economically disadvantaged business concerns. 

MBDA is the now only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of U.S. minority business enterprises (MBEs). For the first time in its nearly 50-year history, Congress made MBDA a permanent federal agency with an annual budget exceeding $125 million and a staff of more than 130 workers.

In Arkansas, Communities Unlimited was selected to oversee the first MBDA Business Center in the state. There are now 41 centers across the U.S. designed to help minority-owned firms create jobs, compete in the global economy and grow their businesses.