MCE awarded $1 million to help small business

Maryland Capital Enterprises Inc. (MCE),was awarded $1 million from revenues generated by the state’s three casinos on April 17, 2013 when the Board of Public Works approved the recommendation from the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development (DBED). MCE will use the funding to provide loans to Small, Minority and Women-Owned Businesses located in Maryland’s Eastern Shore, Baltimore City and Baltimore and Anne Arundel Counties. Priority will be given to businesses located within a ten mile radius of the casinos at Ocean Downs in Berlin and Maryland Live in Arundel Mills that lay within the target area. The contract is to begin May 1, 2013.

The Maryland State legislation that authorized casinos to operate in the state included a requirement that 1.5 percent of video lottery terminal revenue generated be allocated to help Small, Minority and Women-Owned Businesses in the State. DBED set up the grant program and award the management of the funds to loan fund managers who competed for the award. MCE won a five-year contract to manage $1 million which is renewable at the end of five years.

“Small businesses are the engine that drives Maryland’s economy and we are delighted to have these additional resources to support their growth and job creation in Maryland,” said DBED Secretary Dominick Murray. “We look forward to working with great partners like …Maryland Capital Enterprises … to deploy these funds where they are needed most.”

“MCE is pleased to be chosen,” said Hayley Gallagher, Executive Director of Maryland Capital Enterprises. “This funding will significantly increase our ability to help businesses in the Baltimore and Eastern Shore areas.”

MCE is a non-profit micro-business finance and assistance agency formed in 1998 that provides loans, education, and assistance to small businesses on Maryland’s Eastern Shore and provides loans to small businesses in the Baltimore – Annapolis area. Based in Salisbury with an office in Baltimore, the firm is certified by the US Treasury Dept. as a Community Development Financial Institution. It is also certified as an Intermediary Micro-lender for the Small Business Administration, the US Dept. of Agriculture, and the State of Maryland. It has made nearly $3.2 million in loans to small businesses on the Shore.

For more information or to inquire about a small business loan contact MCE at 410-546-1900 or email [email protected]. To find out more about Maryland Capital’s loan programs visit their website www.marylandcapital.org.

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