By Mark Burton, CEO, MEDC
As our state continues to recover from the global pandemic, we need creative and collaborative solutions to help us build a more equitable and resilient economy here in Michigan. We at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) remain committed to growing businesses and building resilient communities across the state and doing so in a way that ensures all Michiganders have a path to a better economic future here in our state.
Over the past seven months, MEDC led the state in economic development efforts to support small businesses, communities, entrepreneurs and workers with targeted COVID-19 relief efforts. We are proud to have deployed 19 programs in response to COVID-19 working in collaboration with local economic development partners and governmental units at every level to the most pressing concerns of business owners and employees – from cash flow challenges to workforce safety concerns – to help them weather this crisis and come out in a position to thrive on the other side.
Efforts like the Michigan Small Business Restart Program that utilized $100 million in federal CARES Act funding to support the needs of those small businesses, startups and nonprofits directly impacted by the virus. Already, more than 11,300 small businesses and nonprofits across Michigan have been awarded $69 million through the program, which included a key requirement that 30 percent of all grants awarded go to minority-owned, woman-owned or veteran-owned businesses.
In Detroit, we partnered with the Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC), to distribute $7.25 million of these Restart grants to more than 900 small businesses with more than 70 percent of the funds being awarded to minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses in the city. This has allowed local small businesses to remain successful and resilient, while contributing to the overall vibrancy of the city itself. It is also an example of our concentrated efforts to support underrepresented businesses, including minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned startups and businesses.
With support from a Restart grant, businesses like Skin Bar VII on Detroit’s Avenue of Fashion were able to utilize both e-commerce and brick-and-mortar operations in a way that helps keep its customers and employees safe, while reinforcing that Detroit – and Michigan as a whole – remains open for business.
As we move forward, we know that the programs we create, administer and support must enable economic opportunity for all Michiganders and will prove more important and necessary than ever before. As we start the new fiscal year with an economic development budget, signed into law by Governor Whitmer, that reflects these values, we at MEDC are ready to get Michigan back to work, picking up our economic momentum where we left off before the pandemic. The foundation of these efforts is a five-year strategic plan with a clear focus on enabling long term economic opportunity for all Michiganders.
We are also working to bolster our state’s economy with more equity and resilience for the future, while focusing on creating more opportunities for pathway jobs to help more of our workforce get on a path toward economic prosperity. By partnering with our colleagues in the Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity to support the Michigan Reconnect and Going Pro initiatives, we can ensure our workforce has the training and support they need to stay competitive and successful in today’s economy. And we can leverage $15 million in funding for the Pure Michigan campaign to help revitalize our local economies in popular destinations like Detroit and beyond, as well as the hospitality industry as a whole.
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