Eye On Annapolis: AAEDC Expands Programs for Small and Minority-Owned Businesses

October 9, 2023

Eye On Annapolis reported on the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) hosting Money Maryland Anne Arundel County and announcing two new initiatives for small and minority-owned businesses in the following article:

AAEDC Expands Programs for Small and Minority-Owned Businesses

The article reported on why the first-of-its-kind regional expo was created and what it included, along with two exciting announcements that were made at the event. It also included commentary from County Executive Steuart Pittman and AAEDC President and CEO Amy Gowan, both of whom delivered opening remarks at the event.

Read the full article here:

Last month, the Anne Arundel Economic Development Corporation (AAEDC) hosted Money Maryland Anne Arundel County and announced a pair of new initiatives aimed at helping small, minority-owned, woman-owned, and Veteran-owned businesses in Anne Arundel County succeed.

Hosted in partnership with Will Holmes Consulting (WHC), the first-of-its-kind regional expo provided those in attendance with actionable advice on accessing a wide array of state, federal, and local programs and resources. Registrants included 118 small business owners, with 106 self-identifying as minorities, 88 as women, and 15 as Veterans.

Money Maryland Anne Arundel County offered three dynamic expert-led panels on topics including business and workforce development, government procurement and contracting, access to capital and investment, and starting and scaling a business. The third track was delivered entirely in Spanish, reflecting AAEDC’s and County Executive Steuart Pittman’s shared focus on reaching the rapidly growing number of Hispanic business owners in Anne Arundel County.

“I can’t think of a better way to kick off Hispanic Heritage Month than by offering an entire curriculum in Spanish,” said County Executive Pittman in his opening remarks. “Our goal is to make Anne Arundel County the best place for all, and we know that making our resources more accessible to traditionally underserved business owners is key to achieving it.”

“We know that business owners are resourceful, but they need to know about available resources to take advantage of and benefit from them,” echoed AAEDC President and CEO Amy Gowan. “That’s why our goal for this event is to raise awareness of a wide range of programs, including our two new initiatives that aim to support diversity and economic empowerment.”

The first initiative that Gowan announced aims to make one of AAEDC’s most impactful initiatives, the Inclusive Ventures Program (IVP), more accessible by offering a Spanish-language version of the program in 2024.

Launched in partnership with WHC in January 2021, IVP consists of an eight-week online class that helps small, minority-owned, woman-owned, and Veteran-owned businesses in Anne Arundel County succeed and grow by providing business education and training, mentorship, and $5,000- $10,000 in operating grants upon completion. Of the 88 business owners who have completed it to date, approximately 84% are women, 67% are minorities, and 92% employ 20 or fewer employees.

Fittingly, one of the most recent business owners to complete IVP is also the first beneficiary of the second new initiative announced by Gowan: the VOLT Microloan Fund.

Specifically created by AAEDC to help businesses that have successfully graduated from a business accelerator program (like IVP) access working capital, the new fund offers loans of up to $50,000 with flexible underwriting standards and payment terms to businesses that are facing credit challenges and are unable to access traditional financing. The fund is part of the state’s Small, Minority, and Women-Owned Business (SMWOB) loan fund – a fund that uses 1.5% of proceeds from video lottery terminals (slots) to assist businesses located in targeted areas surrounding Maryland’s six casinos as well as throughout the state.

AAEDC began managing the VLT on behalf of the Maryland Department of Commerce in May 2013, and has directed $19,188,277 in total funds to 151 businesses through the VOLT Fund – including over one million dollars to ten business owners who have completed IVP.

While celebrating its ten-year anniversary of managing the fund throughout the year, AAEDC reached the milestone of awarding its 150th VOLT Fund loan and its first VOLT Microloan Fund loan in August 2023.

“It’s hard to believe how much has changed for my business since I first even heard of AAEDC less than a year ago,” said Yalmikia Edmonds, who completed IVP in June 2023 and is using the inaugural Microloan Fund loan to expand her hair restoration center, Levonye Professionals. “I’m excited to be putting what I learned from IVP and the capital that I was able to access through the VOLT Microloan program to work – increasing my revenue, creating jobs, and taking my business to the next level.”

For more information about IVP or the VOLT Microloan, visit the Inclusive Ventures Program page or the VOLT Microloan Fund page on the AAEDC website.

Baltimore Business Journal covers AAEDC staff moves focused on redevelopment and revitalization »