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October 14, 2021

GNEMSDC launches satellite MBDA office

The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council recently launched a Connecticut satellite office of the Massachusetts MBDA Business Center.

GNEMSDC was awarded a five-year grant to operate the center by the Minority Business Development Agency, which is part of the U.S. Commerce Department and the only federal agency focused on minority business development.

The new MBDA Center -- which is based in Boston, Massachusetts, and has a satellite office in New Haven, Connecticut -- is focused on promoting the growth and prosperity of minority-owned businesses throughout the six New England states.

At no cost to its clients, the Center will provide:

Business development services with public sector and private sector buyers
Export assistance
Capacity-building services (financial management, strategic planning, marketing, process improvement, assistance with mergers and acquisitions, and assistance with access to all types of capital).

GNEMSDC launched the Center during a ceremony at the offices of one of the Center’s clients: Peralta Design. Led by Ramon Peralta, founder and creative director, Peralta Design is a premiere digital creative agency. The firm is certified as an MBE by GNEMSDC and is one of the early clients of the Center. Sen. Richard Blumenthal also attended the ceremony as the Council's guest of honor.

Blumenthal, along with the entire Connecticut Congressional delegation, supported GNEMSDC’s grant application to operate the Center. He has been a long-standing champion of minority business development and heavily advocated for the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 (the “MBDA Act”).

The MBDA Act expands and enables permanence of the agency’s capacity to promote and administer programs; these programs will assist the development and resiliency of minority business enterprises.