SBA Announces New Contracts for Native American Economic Development Initiative 1/26/2004
From: Sue Hensley of the U.S. Small Business Administration, 202-205-6444 WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 -- Native American communities will soon be provided with economic development assistance through a new entrepreneurial development initiative from the U.S. Small Business Administration. The Native American economic development initiative consists of several components, including ongoing consultation with tribal governments, participation in tribal sponsored economic development events, implementation of an outreach campaign for Native American entrepreneurs, and development of working relationships with tribal colleges and Native American organizations to provide more accessible training for Native American small business owners. "The SBA is dedicated to creating an environment in which Native American-owned businesses have every opportunity to thrive," SBA Administrator Hector V. Barreto said. "Last year the SBA approved a record number of loans to Native American businesses, making sure they had access to essential capital. This new entrepreneurial development initiative is taking our relationship with Native American businesses to a new level. It will create a framework for us to work closely with tribal communities, helping Native American businesses succeed and create jobs in their communities." The new contracts awarded incorporate partnerships with American Indian tribal governments, tribal colleges, Native American organizations, federal agencies and the private sector to spur economic growth for Native Americans. They include: -- Arviso Business Consulting, a Navajo tribal member-owned firm in New Mexico, to develop two cultural tourism corridors for rural micro-enterprise development in the Navajo Nation. -- Kauffman & Associates, a small American Indian-owned company in Spokane, Wash., to provide technical assistance, marketing assistance, communications training and Web site development to small businesses in economically disadvantaged Native American areas. -- Mandaree Enterprise Corp., a tribally-owned company on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, N.D., to develop a business and technology incubator that will provide infrastructure support and access for Native American entrepreneurs. -- G&G Advertising, an 8(a) American Indian-owned company in Albuquerque, N.M., and Billings, Mont., to develop and provide marketing products to Native American and Alaska Native small business owners. -- Nth-Degree Analytics, a small business in Bozeman, Mont., to conduct research on job creation tracking in Indian Country. The SBA has also entered into interagency agreements with the U.S. Census Bureau to identify underserved Native American tribal areas, and with the Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI), Bureau of Indian Affairs to develop and implement a small business development training program for Native American-owned businesses located in economically depressed areas. ------ For more information about all of the SBA's programs for small businesses, visit the SBA's extensive Web site at http://www.sba.gov. The SBA, in co-sponsorship with Staples, has introduced an online newsletter SBA Solutions. For a free subscription, go to http://web.sba.gov/list, and select New SBA Solutions Newsletter. |