Minority Business Development Agency Breaks Records and Arizona Benefits

by Mike Hunter

In fiscal year 2011, Minority Business Development Center helped Arizona minority-owned businesses obtain 42 contracts totaling $134,721,609 and $171,426,324 in capital through 12 financial transactions. For clients assisted by the agency with gross annual revenues of $500,000 or more, MBDA Business Centers completed 41 transactions totaling $305,566,289. For clients with annual gross revenues below $500,000, MBDA Business Centers in Arizona completed 13 transactions totaling $581,645. MBDA assisted Arizona minority-owned businesses in creating 446 new jobs that year and 799 from 2009 through 2011.

Over the years, the Phoenix MBDA Business Center has assisted Andale Construction, Inc. with certifications and marketing. As a result, Andale negotiated a Mentor-Protégé Agreement with Sundt Construction, which enabled Andale to secure two large contracts with the U.S. Navy for $31.6 million and $39.9 million, creating 380 new jobs. Says Luis de la Cruz, president and CEO of Andale Construction. “The MBDA Business Center has supported our company with strong outreach efforts, and constant e-mails with leads and links to projects and opportunities.”

There are two business centers in Arizona: the MBDA Business Center in Phoenix, a part of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce run by director Alika Kumar, and the Native American Business Enterprise Center in Mesa run by project director Mary Dolezal. The centers provide professional business consulting services and technical assistance to minority-owned businesses to manage, grow and expand their businesses. The centers focus on securing large public and private contracts, financing transactions, stimulating job creation and retention, and facilitating entry to global markets for eligible minority-owned businesses. Each of these offices is federally funded through the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Arizona MBDA Performance

Minority Business Community at-a-Glance (Based on 2007 Census)
Business Owners	Number of Firms	Gross Receipts ($1,000s)	Average Gross Receipt	Paid Employees
African American	10,039	$ 634,558	$ 63,209	5,441
American Indian & Alaska Native	9,106	$ 830,456	$ 91,199	6,788
Asian American	16,333	$ 4,529,479	$ 277,321	31,339
Hispanic American	52,667	$ 8,004,494	$ 151,983	54,530
All Minority-Owned	85,227	$ 14,183,639	$ 166,422	99,176

Assistance by Industry
Industry	# of Transactions	Value of Transactions
Construction	27	$ 241,925,679
Finance, Insurance, & Real Estate	1	$ 12,000
Mining	2	$ 243,125
Public Administration	2	$ 60,521
Retail Trade	1	$ 2,115
Services	7	$ 63,404,493
Wholesale Trade	1	$ 500,000