The U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) announced The Enterprise Center as a grant recipient to operate a MBDA Business Center in Philadelphia.

The grant program is designed to help minority owned-firms across the nation create jobs, develop their businesses, and compete in the global economy. The federal funding of $304,475 will be distributed annually during a five-year period.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Business Owners, minority-owned firms in the U.S. increased from 5.8 million in 2007 to 8 million in 2012, and employed 7.2 million people in 2012.

In Pennsylvania, there are 131,512 minority-owned firms that contribute more than $24.2 million annually in economic output.  These firms employ more than 131,000 local residents.

Since 2009, MBDA Business Centers have assisted minority firms with gaining access to more than $31 billion in capital and contracts, while creating and retaining nearly 142,000 jobs.