JACKSON – U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today announced the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) awarded Tri-County Contractors, Inc. in Jackson $375,000 to launch a MBDA Business Center in Mississippi. The award, which will granted each year for five years, represents a $1.875 million planned investment in the state. The state has not had an MBDA center in years.

“A new Minority Business Development Agency Business Center will put technical and business development services within reach for more minority-owned businesses in Mississippi,” Wicker said. “The MBDA brings tremendous value in creating jobs and promoting entrepreneurship. I appreciate Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo for her recognition of the entrepreneurial spirit found in Mississippi.”

Bringing the resources of the MBDA to Mississippi minority businesses has been a priority for Wicker. In May, Wicker reintroduced the Reaching America’s Rural Minority Businesses Act of 2021, which would establish up to 10 business centers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities to serve rural and underserved communities. He is also an original cosponsor of the Minority Business Development Act of 2021, which would authorize the Minority Business Development Agency for the first time.

MBDA Business Development Centers support clients by assisting with sales and service agreements and matching sales opportunities to qualified clients.

The centers also help clients build capacity by:

• improving operational efficiencies;
• increasing resources;
• building scale;
• managing risk and increasing liability thresholds;
• strengthening management teams;
• accessing and securing financing, equity, and venture capital;
• increasing profits and owner equity; and
• implementing and integrating new technology and equipment.

For more information on the MBDA, click here.