Los Angeles, Calif. (September 10, 2021) –Pacific Asian Consortium in Employment (PACE) has become one of the newest Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Centers serving California. PACE is 1 of only 3 awardees in California and will receive a total of $2.5 million over 5 years from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s MBDA to support minority small businesses across Southern California. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Office of Advocacy, there are 4.1 million small businesses in the State of California, 1.2 million of which are minority-owned.
Through the Los Angeles MBDA Business Center, PACE will provide programs designed to help minority business enterprises (MBE) create jobs, compete in the global economy and grow their businesses. MBEs will be able to access technical assistance and working capital loans. PACE will also provide one-on-one counseling and mentoring with a focus on navigating the government contracting and procurement processes including obtaining business certifications and making successful bids for projects. PACE’s ethnically diverse staff is able to assist small business clients in 18 languages including Mandarin, Cantonese, Thai, Korean and Spanish.
PACE is also an SBA Microloan Intermediary and a Community Advantage lender, a COIN certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a Community Development Entity (CDE) and an official CalCAP Lender. Additionally, PACE operates an award-winning Women’s Business Center and 2 of the 9 City of Los Angeles BusinessSource Centers.
Founded in 1976 and as one of the largest Asian nonprofit community development corporations in the nation, PACE brings unparalleled experience and expertise to the MBDA program. Over the past 45 years, PACE has provided economic development services to more than 1.3 million low-income and ethnic minority Angelenos. PACE Business & its CDFI, PACE Finance Corporation, have packaged/placed/funded $494MM in micro- and small business loans & provided business services to 68,300+ entrepreneurs & small business owners.
“We’re pleased and excited that the Department of Commerce along with the SBA, Economic Development Administration, and Treasury Department recognize the substantial work we’ve performed and will continue to perform,” said Kerry Doi, President and CEO of PACE. “There are literally tens of billions of dollars in contracting opportunities in both the public and government sectors in Los Angeles County alone. We plan to make sure locally-owned businesses get their fair share, create more livable wage jobs, and attain new wealth.”
For more information about our MBDA programs and services for small businesses, please contact PACE Business at (213) 353-9400 or email at [email protected]