The North End Community Improvement Collaborative (NECIC) has been tapped as the Minority Business Assistance Center (MBAC) for our area. They are able to offer professional support in a variety of ways, providing minority businesses with resources that include technical assistance, marketing know-how, access to funding, and connections to business opportunities.
The MBAC program is offered through the Ohio Development Services Agency (DSA), which partners with community-based non-profit organizations like NECIC to host regional MBACs. A primary objective of the program is to identify emerging businesses and cultivate their growth and sustainability. The realization of this objective locally will strengthen the minority business community, support job creation and further economic growth in our community and in Ohio.
NECIC’s trained MBAC staff can work with owners of existing businesses, certified Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), certified Encouraging Diversity Growth and Equity (EDGE) and socially and economically disadvantaged businesses. MBEs are defined as businesses that are at least 51 percent or more owned and controlled by one of the following groups: African American, Hispanic, Native American or Asian American. EDGE certified businesses are defined as enterprises that are owned by economically and socially disadvantaged entrepreneurs.
One main goal is to help entrepreneurs and emerging business enterprises to achieve, scale, and market their success. The overarching goal is to help small, minority-owned, and disadvantaged businesses contribute to job creation and economic growth in Ohio.
The services offered by NECIC are available with no cost to the entrepreneurs and businesses. NECIC has also partnered with the Akron MBAC to bring business counseling services to Richland County. If you are interested in the MBAC service, or would like to find out about MBAC events such as workshops and information sessions, contact Edward Akinyemi at NECIC by telephone at 419-522-1611, ext. 127, or visit https://www.necic-ohio.org/leadership/minority-business-assistance-center-mbac.
