Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced six new grant awards designed to create or sustain high-quality export jobs across the U.S. in key industries. The Market Development Cooperator Program (MDCP), which is administered by Commerce’s International Trade Administration, is awarding more than $1.7 million in financial and technical assistance to promote U.S. exports and reduce...

Thank you, Under Secretary Cravins, for that introduction. We’re thrilled to have you on board as the Commerce Department’s first-ever Under Secretary for Minority Business Development. And I want to thank all of you − our minority business enterprises in particular – for being here for the first in-person MED Week Conference in two years. America has more than 9 million minority-owned firms that...

Additional funding from Biden Administration brings total up to $37 million to bolster services that will help minority-owned businesses expand and prosper across 34 states Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) is extending an award for $4.72 million in federal funding to strengthen and expand its...

Today, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong in New York City. During their meeting, the Secretary emphasized the importance of the United States’ and Australia’s partnership and shared interest in a free and open Indo-Pacific region. She and Minister Wong also discussed Australia’s current foreign policy priorities. Raimondo thanked Wong...

The U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) has extended awards for the Access to Capital Innovative Finance Grant to two projects that will address historical barriers faced by minority business enterprises (MBEs). Through potentially disruptive, scalable solutions, these projects will leverage non-traditional financial resources (such as non-bank lenders, minority...

Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo met with Philippine Secretary of Trade and Industry Alfredo Pascual to follow up on the first official in-person Ministerial meeting of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF). Secretary Raimondo expressed her gratitude for the Philippine government’s collaborative involvement in the processes leading up to and emerging from the...

Thank you, Under Secretary Cravins, for that introduction. I’m thrilled to welcome you all to the Minority Business Development Agency’s National Minority Enterprise Development Week Conference. As a descendant of one of America’s first Black patent-holders, I know firsthand how important it is to support minority entrepreneurs, innovators, and businesses. America has nearly 10 million minority...

Thank you, David, for that introduction, and thank you to the Washington Center for Equitable Growth for inviting me to join you today. I also want to thank you for the research and advocacy you do to support broad-based economic growth. It aligns with our work at the Commerce Department, where we’re laser-focused on improving America’s competitiveness so that all our workers and companies can...