Louisiana native announced as first-ever under secretary for fully-funded federal Minority Business Development Agency

By The Arkansas Delta Informer Staff – Aug. 7, 2022 — U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced that Donald R. Cravins Jr. will be the first-ever Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development for the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).

Secretary Cravins will lead MBDA in its service of the nation’s 9.7 million minority business enterprises (MBEs) following the agency’s historic elevation in authority and influence as mandated by the Minority Business Development Act of 2021.

Under the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Joe Biden on Nov. 15, 2021,  the MBDA received statutory recognition from Congress for federal appropriations for the first time since its inception and elevates the agency head to the position of Under Secretary, granting the agency expanded power to support Black and other minority-owned businesses.

“Mr. Cravins’ confirmation as for Minority Business Development is a momentous milestone as MBDA elevates and expands its work to support minority businesses across the country,” said Secretary Raimondo. “In his new position, I fully expect him to continue to provide the type of leadership that will lay the foundation for MBDA to usher in numerous opportunities for enterprise growth, research, and development and ensure minority businesses can compete and succeed.”

Cravins was unanimously confirmed by the Senate on Aug. 4. Prior to joining MBDA, Cravins was a practicing attorney and a member of the Louisiana Bar Association since 1998. In 2004, he was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives, and in 2006 he was elected to the Louisiana State Senate. During his tenure as Louisiana State Senator, Don was heavily involved in post-Hurricane Katrina recovery, working as the Chairman of the Senate Insurance Committee. He was also an active member of the Juvenile Justice Commission of Louisiana and is an active member of the Army National Guard.

In January of 2009, Cravins left the Louisiana Legislature to serve as staff director and chief counsel the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship. In January of 2013, he began serving as chief of staff for U.S. Senator Mary L. Landrieu of Louisiana. Just before his selection as Under Secretary, Cravins served as the executive vice president and COO at the National Urban League, where he led the civil rights organization’s corporate diversity, equity and inclusion initiative

“It is an honor to serve as the nation’s first Under Secretary of Commerce for Minority Business Development. I have spent my life dedicated to fostering and advancing minority entrepreneurship, and I am excited to fully embrace the mission of MBDA,” said Cravins. “I look forward to leading the team of professionals at MBDA and working to ensure minority business enterprises are provided the support and resources they need to succeed in urban, rural, and tribal communities.”

Created by an executive order by former President Richard Nixon in 1969, the MBDA today is the only federal agency solely dedicated to the growth and global competitiveness of minority business enterprises. The new act expands the geographic reach of the MBDA by authorizing the creation of regional MBDA offices, rural business centers, and increasing the number and scope of existing programs.

Although Congress has never enacted a statutory authorization for the agency, it has appropriated some funding for MBDA for over 50 years. Considerations for Congress under the infrastructure bill included enabling legislation, the coordination of services for minority business enterprises (MBEs) across federal agencies and resolving disagreements over the agency’s funding.

During the Obama administration, the Department of Commerce placed increased emphasis on quantifying the impact of MBDA activities, increasing the efficient delivery of its services to minority business communities, and strengthening coordination with other federal agencies. The Trump administration, however, proposed in its first budget to close out the agency, and later cut the agency’s budget by approximately 75%.

According to a new report released by the MBDA in September, the strength of the broader U.S. economy is increasingly tied to minority-owned business enterprise (MBEs) performance that are a growing share of U.S. businesses and the workforce. In 2017, report estimates there were nearly 9.2 million employer and non-employer MBEs combined, generating $1.7 trillion in revenue and with employer MBEs providing more than 8.9 million jobs.

The new 100-page Commerce Department study also examines and develops a new baseline estimate for the productivity of employer MBEs and estimates of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of employer classifiable firms using the latest data available. View the report here.

Under the new infrastructure act, lawmakers included enabling legislation that expands the geographic reach of the MBDA by authorizing the creation of regional MBDA offices, rural business centers, and increasing the number and scope of existing programs.

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