BALTIMORE, July 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Acting Under
Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development at the
Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Eric Morrissette and Esther Shin, president of Urban Strategies, Inc.
(USI), celebrated a partnership with the signing of a memorandum of
understanding to strengthen opportunities and access for emergent
enterprises of color throughout the country.
As a federally designated Community Development Financial
Institution, Urban Strategies' CDFI focuses on helping underserved
businesses and communities prosper with training and expertise in
accessing necessary resources.
"The ability for Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and
other marginalized communities to dream and actualize their
economic goals is oftentimes a hard-fought battle. These
entrepreneurial dreamers, in partnership with USI and the USI CDFI,
are building a pathway to access resources with thoughtful funders
and strategic partners who understand the systemic challenges that
call for meaningful and equitable strategies. USI is proud to
solidify this partnership with the Minority Business Development
Agency to create pathways for families with enterprising
aspirations to achieve stability, prosperity, and liberation." -
Esther Shin, USI, President
The mission of the MBDA is to foster, promote and develop
minority enterprises, including promoting their growth and global
competitiveness, by providing technical assistance and highlighting
business development opportunities. Financial assistance provided
by the agency is designed to help deliver a range of services.
Through the partnership, USI and the MBDA will work as strategic
partners to scale access to services and capital for emergent
businesses of color, leveraging the capabilities of each
organization to expand public awareness of their priorities,
initiatives and resources. They will also identify opportunities to
support each other's work, with efforts to recognize USI as a
collaborator with MBDA grantees nationwide, including sharing
information about USI activities through MBDA networks.
USI will provide opportunities for MBDA officials to speak at
and become engaged in USI-hosted events and share information about
the agency's programs through its network.
About the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency
(MBDA):
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Minority Business Development
Agency is the only Federal agency dedicated to the growth and
global competitiveness of U.S. minority business enterprises
(MBEs). For more than 50 years, MBDA's programs and services have
better equipped MBEs to create jobs, build scale and capacity,
increase revenues, and expand regionally, nationally, and
internationally.
About USI CDFI
The USI Community Development Financial
Institution (CDFI) Certification is a designation given by the
CDFI Fund to specialized organizations that provide financial
services in low wealth communities and to people who
lack access to financing. The USI CDFI provides equitable
access to affordable financial products and services. For
information www.usi-cdfi.org
About Urban Strategies Inc.
Founded in
1978, Urban Strategies, Inc. is a national nonprofit leader
with extensive experience in implementing results-based human
capital development strategies in communities that are
undergoing physical revitalization. USI supports communities while
working with partners to develop economic opportunities,
cradle-to-college/career success, high quality health services and
a range of comprehensive service supports. The organization is
leading people efforts and neighborhood transformation in 32 cities
and 48 communities across the nation. USI's mission is to help
ensure that all families will be stable and thriving. For more
information www.usi-inc.org.
Contact:
Cindy Wallach
1-314-922-8060
cindy@sagemarketingpr.com
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SOURCE Urban Strategies, Inc