MIAMI – Small businesses in the City of Miami now have a new assistance center, after Mayor Manny Diaz and community partners announced the opening of a new Minority Business Enterprise Center (MBEC™) during a press conference on Wednesday, January 28, 2009, at 10:00 am.
Thanks to a partnership with the City of Miami, the MBEC™ recently made the City’s Manuel Artime Community Center in Little Havana their headquarters. The City is also providing them with a range of support services, including equipment, Internet and telephone support services.
“Small businesses are the heart of our local economy, and they are the most affected by the current economic crisis,” said Mayor Diaz. “The Minority Business Enterprise Center is a great addition to our already extensive menu of assistance for small businesses in our community.”
Mayor Manny Diaz, joined by small business owners and members of the community celebrate the opening of a new Minority Business Enterprise Center in Miami. Photo: Jorge R. Perez/City of Miami.
(Photo: Jorge R. Perez/City of Miami)
MBEC™ provides expert coaching, general counseling and hands-on technical support to minority firms in South Florida. The services include: Business plan development; financial analysis and loan packaging; marketing plan and services; feasibility studies; SWOT analysis and strategic planning; organizational development; minority certification; bid preparation; procurement and loan sourcing; construction management; entrepreneurship training services.
Also on-hand during the press conference were representatives from ACCION USA, the largest micro-lender in the United States. ACCION USA opened an office in Miami in 2003 and has been providing business loans ranging from $500 to $50,000 to self-employed Miamians who are shut out from traditional sources of business credit.
Mayor Diaz also called to the Federal Government for financial relief for small businesses to help them through this unprecedented economic downturn. Mayor Diaz, President of the United States Conference of Mayors, urged for small business owners to contact their members of congress in Washington, D.C., and call for passage of the Economic Stimulus Package.
USCM also sent a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (MA) and House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel (NY) calling for financial relief for small business
