Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4), Senator Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) announced $100,000 in federal funding for the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council (GNEMSDC). The funding will be used to establish a GNEMSDC satellite location in Bridgeport, Conn., which will focus on providing business consulting and deal-making services to Native American and Alaska Native Business Enterprises throughout the country. This grant was awarded through the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency, an organization that works to promote the growth and competitiveness of minority business enterprises.
“When more businesses succeed, we all benefit, and today's funding means increased opportunity to many business owners who have been passed over too many times before,” said Himes. “This new location will provide invaluable resources to minority business owners in Bridgeport and beyond, and I look forward to working with local businesses to connect them to these opportunities.”
“This new location in Bridgeport will give minority business owners and entrepreneurs in Connecticut and across the country increased access to the valuable resources that are desperately needed in these difficult economic times,” said Lieberman. “With this funding, our small businesses, the backbone of our economy, will have more of the tools they need to compete and succeed.”
“This grant will create a new business development center in Bridgeport that will help local minority business owners grow jobs and expand their businesses,” said Blumenthal. “Providing minority businesses with useful information, global market opportunities, and alternative sources of capital are essential to Connecticut’s economic growth. I applaud the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council for its long-standing commitment to economic development in Connecticut, and the entire region.”
“For nearly four decades, the Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council has worked to create opportunity for their members and have done so with great success,” DeLauro said. “The Greater New England Minority Supplier Development Council is an invaluable resource in our region and their efforts to nurture and encourage business throughout the minority community have helped local business owners achieve their goals and realize their dreams. The federal dollars being invested will allow the organization to expand their role in Connecticut and across the country. I look forward to seeing the results of this grant.”