May 2009

Washington, DC (April 30, 2009) – The Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is proud to announce that Heyward Davenport, its Northeast Regional Director, was inducted into the Minority Business Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc (MBHF&M).  The Minority Business Hall of Fame and Museum Inc. recognized four pioneers of minority business development on April 30th, at an awards dinner at the Frito-Lay Headquarters in Plano, Texas.

“We are proud that Mr. Davenport has been recognized with this important honor. The award symbolizes his lifetime commitment to the growth and competitiveness of minority businesses.  MBDA congratulates him for his hard work and dedication and is proud that he represents MBDA,” said Edith McCloud, MBDA Associate Director.

SUBJECT: FINANCING MINORITY BUSINESSES IN CHALLENGING ECONOMIC TIMES
Federal News Service May 12, 2009 Tuesday

MS. GAMBRELL: Thank you for that kind introduction and it's an honor to be here today. I serve as the Director of the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, promoting economic development and opportunities for organizations, including minority businesses, across the country. The CDFI Fund's mission is very similar to the objectives of this Capital Access Forum - to expand the capacity of financial institutions to provide credit, capital, and financial services to underserved populations and economically distressed communities within the United States. As such, I welcome the opportunity to speak before you here today, and to discuss our shared vision, by showing you the ways in which we are committed to seeing minority-owned enterprises succeed.

Before I begin however, I would like share a brief story. A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to visit Detroit and Lansing, Michigan, for a two-day trip to view firsthand how the CDFI Fund's New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) Program is providing needed jobs and support to local businesses. It would be very difficult for me now to describe the economic conditions that I saw firsthand during my visit, but what stood out the most was the entrepreneurial spirit of the small business that was remarkably resilient.

Last week the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Credit Cardholders’ Bill of Rights - a common sense financial system reform and consumer protection.  This bill provides  tough new protections for consumers facing excessive credit card fees, sky high interest rates and unfair agreements that credit card companies revise at will.

This bill is important to the establishment and growth of minority businesses because a greater proportion of minority-owned firms are started or acquired by using credit cards (10 percent of firms) among other sources of capital, compared to non-minority firms (9 percent of firms), according to MBDA’s “Characteristics of Minority Businesses and Entrepreneurs.” (March 2008)