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Volume 15 | September 2021

CRMSDC Wins Virginia!

First MBDA Business Center in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

As CRMSDC falls into the Fall Season, we are excited and look forward to hitting our milestones:

1. October 12^th, we will host a launch press conference focusing on our Virginia MBDA Business Center. It is one of MBDA’s brand new Business Centers.
2. Website Refresh – we will formally unveil our new website.
3. Coronavirus Response and Relief. We will continue our COVID and post-COVID work.
4. Our podcasts can now be found on Google, Spotify and coming soon to Apple!

September 15^th started Hispanic Heritage Month! This year's theme is Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope to celebrate the community's resilience, strength and hope!



This fall we will begin our journey into 50 Years! We are planning a spectacular golden anniversary for 2022. Stay tuned!

MBDA awarded Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council, the Virginia Business Center on July 12, 2021. This is the first MBDA business center to be established in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the 52-year history of MBDA. Our Mission is to manage relationships and sources of deals by promoting the interests of MBEs; educating MBEs on the benefits of strategic growth alternatives (e.g., mergers, acquisitions, and/or joint ventures); and providing service referrals to MBEs of all sizes. We are staffed with a group of seasoned business consultants that provide technical assistance and business development services to promote growth and global competitiveness of MBEs. We are grateful for all of your partners, especially the Carolinas Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council.

We offer support and service to MBEs from around the country by assisting them with capital building, along with business development, management, financials and technology.

Northern Virginia Location

1800 Diagonal Road, Suite 800

Alexandria, VA 22314

Richmond, Virginia Location

707 Main Street, Suite 1375

Richmond, VA 23219

If you are in need of assistance please visit our website at www.mbda-virginia.com or contact us via email at info@mbda-virginia.com.

We are thrilled to announce that the Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council’s new and improved One Stop Shop website has been strategically designed to help better serve you. Some of the great new features of the site include:

• An online event calendar with built-in registration;
• Direct access to the NMSDC portal through the MBE services page;
• Media Center: Home of the HotChat Podcast and features the 25+ online events the council has hosted throughout the pandemic;
• Digital applications;
• and much more!

If you have any questions, please contact us at crmsdc@crmsdc.org.

Our work continues… Uplifting minority-owned firms during the pandemic

The Capital Region Minority Supplier Development Council (CRMSDC) will extend its work into another year to support, educate and inform the minority business community who continue to navigate and find ways to survive the impacts of the novel coronavirus. This new 2021-2022 grant will allow us to continue our work as a Coronavirus Response and Relief Center (CVRRC) for minority businesses across the Capital Region. 

As an organization since the onset of the pandemic we had to pivot and feature programming in a virtual setting. As such, during those 12 months we showcased various topics such as Access to Capital, Resources available by the Small Business Administration, Cybersecurity, Back to Work Tools, Contact Tracing, Federal Contracting and Identifying new business opportunities across nearly 30 states. We are looking forward to continuing that work yet deepening our reach and understanding as many firms continue to struggle with challenges as it relates to hiring, succession planning, marketing their companies in a virtual setting and employee safety.

The hurdles that our minority businesses continue to face are indeed challenging and we plan to continue to identify resources that will aid them and showcase issues that matter most. To stay connected to the work that we are doing visit the Coronavirus Response & Relief Center at www.crmsdccares.com.

We are in need of 100 MBEs to participate in our custom research study launching in October which will include both focus groups and an online community for you to share your insights. As we continue our work under the Coronavirus Response & Relief Center, we are seeking to better understand the impacts and needs of our minority businesses as they continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. Our research studies will be vital to our success in curating resources and programming for our minority business community and provide us with a broad view of what’s happening in the marketplace. Additionally, we will take a deeper look at the economic impacts of this pandemic across a variety of industries. We have partnered with Social Lens Research and Sage Policy to help us gather input from you to make this an impactful study.

Most importantly, the insights and information that we source from our minority business community will help to navigate our way forward as we work to provide the necessary and critical resources that you need. If you’re in business or know someone who is and is willing to make a contribution please go to our website at www.crmsdccares.com to register on the home page. We look forward to your input and engagement and sharing the results of this study!

Two of our distinguished MBEs, Mercedita Roxas-Murray and April R. Richardson, Esq., are featured on HOTCHAT Minority Business Connections podcast for our special series showcasing MBEs and their “Untold Stories.”

As Founder & CEO of Montage Marketing Group LLC, Mercedita Roxas-Murray brings a unique perspective on how a marketing services agency navigates the new normal internally and for its clients.

Watch our conversation with April Richardson, Esq., President & Co-founder of DC Sweet Potato Cake and learn how she got involved with DC Sweet Potato Cake and how her bakery has had to pivot during this pandemic.

CRMSDC's HOTCHAT Podcast is available On-Demand

CRMSDC is pleased to announce HOTCHAT Podcast, “Minority Business Connections.” Our podcast features a collection of conversations with President & CEO, Sharon R. Pinder. If you’re looking to learn from our featured MBEs or what resources are available to minority businesses, tune in to Spotify & Google to hear these discussions on-demand. Our conversations will also be coming soon to Apple Podcasts!

> PODCAST AVAILABLE NOW <

> COMING SOON <

Kevin Williams, CEO of TekConnX

Mercedita Roxas-Murray, CEO of Montage Marketing

Darryl Wiggins, President of PS2G – Public Sector Solutions Group

Anthony Irudhayanathan, President and CEO of Zillion Technologies

The Exelon Corporation provided a grant to the Capital Region and Eastern Minority Supplier Development Councils to implement a new program entitled FOUNDATIONS, focusing on African American businesses. FOUNDATIONS is an executive-level program designed to familiarize minority businesses with the aspects of the utility industry. The curriculum offers knowledge and best practices that support doing business with utilities. Ultimately, the goal of the program is to provide knowledge and resources to equip and empower the participants to compete for contracts within the Utility Industry.

The experience includes meeting key leaders within the Exelon family of Companies to include Baltimore Gas and Electric and Pepco. The project is hosted by the Capital Region and Eastern Minority Supplier Development Councils where Sharon R. Pinder and Valerie Cofield serve as the Presidents and CEO’s of the organizations, respectively. There are 20 Cohort Executives in the program and each participated in the kick-off session on Leadership Assessment and the program will conclude with a graduation ceremony.

The Capital Region Council is honored to offer this exclusive executive education training opportunity for our minority businesses and even more proud to have Exelon Inc., as one of our Corporate Members.   

BGE is pledging $15 million to assist Maryland’s small businesses with COVID-19 relief and recovery.

3rd and final round opens September 1 and closes October 13

Our corporate member DC Water has embarked on a massive capital improvement project to remove all lead service pipelines in D.C. by 2030. This ambitious and robust plan is a coordinated effort that prioritizes lead exposure to the most vulnerable populations and historically underserved communities across the District of Columbia. As this project gets underway DC Water will execute a series of outreach efforts to inform, involve and engage community as well as small, diverse owned businesses. 

SAVE THE DATE!

FALL LAUNCH

October 12, 2021

The 2021 NMSDC Conference + Business Opportunity Exchange virtual conference will be held October 25 – 28, 2021.