Bay Saint Louis, Miss. — The Magnolia Business Alliance (MBA) is pleased to announce that it has been awarded one of ten national grants by the U.S. Small Business Administration under the new “Innovative Economies” Initiative that attracted 173 applicants. The SBA announced more than $5 million in awards to clusters under this initiative to drive innovation and create jobs in urban and rural areas.
The non-profit MBA was founded by regional small businesses and is the managing organization of the Enterprise for Innovative Geospatial Solutions (EIGS), a Mississippi business cluster originally founded through a partnership of the State, NASA, and the University of Mississippi in 1998 to grow the geospatial technology industry in Mississippi.
SBA director Karen Mills said the number of applicants for the pilot initiative announced in July exceeded expectations. “Maximizing a region’s economic assets is one of the best ways to create long-term job growth and that’s what SBA’s new Innovative Economies pilot initiative is doing,” Mills said. “I’m thrilled to announce MBA’s participation. They’re creating jobs in the community and making the Gulf Coast Region an industry leader.”
Under the SBA contract, MBA will provide over 25 unique services to existing businesses, startups, and individual entrepreneurs in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. Services include workshops, expos, networking opportunities, and direct support. Categories of services include: Business Training, Business Counseling, Mentoring, Business-Risk Mitigation, Technology Transfer Counseling, Commercialization of Research, Export Readiness, Support for Underserved Communities, Financing Opportunities, and Market Development.
The SBA awards, ranging from $500,000 to $600,000, went to a diverse array of clusters ranging from agriculture to defense. The awards were based in part on the potential for commercialization and metrics for job creation.
MBA Co-Founder and President Craig Harvey said, “Magnolia Business Alliance was founded to provide a single voice for small and medium-sized business in the region as well as provide a home to ensure continuity for the highly successful EIGS industry cluster. This SBA contract is recognition of the importance of small business and the geospatial industry to the region and the nation. We appreciate the opportunity this SBA award offers us to make an impact and help our region compete on a national and global scale.”
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About Magnolia Business Association: Magnolia Business Alliance is a 501(C)6 not-for-profit corporation aimed at providing a support organization and forum for the advancement and adoption of geospatial technology and other technologies, by providing mentorship, training, logistics, and other support as needed to facilitate the development of new companies, to facilitate a better environment for existing companies, and to foster community awareness of this growing technology sector. For more information, contact Craig Harvey at charvey@magnolia-ba.biz or visit http://www.magnolia-ba.biz/.
