It began in 2023 as a promise to small businesses in Minnesota.
“Essentially, we’re helping small businesses reach their full potential,” said Shahir Ahmed, vice president of business service at the Neighborhood Development Center (NDC), which serves as a direct administrator of the MN PROMISE Act’s metro grant program.
The MN PROMISE Act, signed into law by Governor Tim Walz during the 2023 legislative session with the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) overseeing the program’s implementation and grant programs, was created and designed to provide financial support to small businesses in communities adversely affected by structural racial discrimination, civil unrest, and lack of access to capital…