MBDA Specialty Center Program

MBDA Specialty Center Program

Funds specialty centers supporting minority entrepreneurs in advanced manufacturing, exports, procurement, and reintegration pathways.

The MBDA Specialty Center Program (CFDA 11.802) is a federal cooperative agreement program administered by the U.S. Minority Business Development Agency under the Department of Commerce, authorized by the Minority Business Development Act of 2021 (15 USC 9521, Public Law 117-58). The program awards five-year cooperative agreements to intermediary organizations to operate industry-specific Specialty Centers serving Minority Business Enterprises across several sub-tracks: the Advanced Manufacturing Project (connecting MBEs to NIST Manufacturing Extension Partnership programs), Export Centers, Federal Procurement Centers, the Enterprising Women of Color Initiative, the Returning Citizens entrepreneurship program, and the Parren J. Mitchell Entrepreneurship Center. Eligible applicants are for-profits, nonprofits, institutions of higher education, state and local governments, tribal governments, and quasi-governmental entities; individuals cannot apply. The five-year cooperative agreements from the July 2021 cycle ran through approximately June 2026.

FY25 anticipated total program funding was $5.4 million across sub-streams, but SAM.gov records show $0 actually obligated for FY25. FY26 likewise shows $0, with SAM.gov formally declaring: "Program is not funded in FY26." Renewals of the 2021-cycle cooperative agreements are not anticipated. The FY24 obligation was $1,600,000. The program's defunding follows Executive Order 14238 and its broader impact on MBDA operations. Indirect cost rates for potential applicants would be governed by a NICRA or the 10 percent de minimis rate per 2 CFR 200.414(f).

No open funding opportunity announcement exists for this program as of June 2026. Organizations with capacity to operate sector-specific business development centers focused on manufacturing, export assistance, federal procurement, or underserved entrepreneur populations — including women of color and returning citizens — should monitor SAM.gov CFDA 11.802 for any future announcement. The same program contact as CFDA 11.805 applies: Lester Purnell, lpurnell@mbda.gov, 1401 Constitution Ave, C300, Washington, DC 20230.