US Dept. of Commece grants $183K to promote Puerto Rico’s rural businesses
The U.S. Department of Commerce awarded $183,000 to the Hecho en Puerto Rico Association to launch the Puerto Rico Minority Business Development Agency Rural Business Program. The initiative aims to provide technical assistance and business development services to minority business enterprises (MBE) in rural areas across the island.
The program will provide access to capital, training and identification of opportunities in both the public and private sectors. The agency defines a rural area as a municipality with fewer than 50,000 inhabitants.
“Through the services we’ll provide, we plan to assist around 200 businesses with new business opportunities and access to available financing and incentive programs,” said Teresa Berríos, director of the Puerto Rico MBDA Center, a Commerce Department program supporting Puerto Rican businesses.
“The Rural Business Program requires that we establish strategic alliances with entities, organizations and programs that provide services to entrepreneurs located in rural municipalities and, in fact, to achieve this task, today we will sign a strategic alliance with the Puerto Rico Economic Development Bank [BDE, in Spanish] to, together, help these entrepreneurs obtain capital to establish or expand their businesses,” Berríos noted.
The services offered will include financing proposals, incentive applications, registration for federal contracting access, business plans, digital marketing and business administration guidance.
To reach rural areas in Puerto Rico, the MBDA Center, which already has an office in Barranquitas, plans to open another in San Sebastián.
“At the BDE, we make sure that we deliver a strong message about our services to business people across Puerto Rico through our regional business meetings and in various municipalities,” emphasized agency President Luis Alemañy.
“Therefore, we are firmly committed to continue ensuring that small and medium-sized merchants in emerging areas, as well as in underprivileged locations, have direct financing options, with the aim of fostering greater opportunities for economic development in rural areas,” he said.
Hecho en Puerto Rico supports local manufacturing and services by companies based in Puerto Rico, with partners across various sectors using the “Hecho en Puerto Rico” seal.
