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Kilili: NMC awarded $952,394 grant for its SBDC
Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan
Delegate Gregorio Kilili C. Sablan (D-MP) disclosed Saturday that the U.S. Small Business Administration confirmed with his office that it awarded a $952,394 grant to the Northern Marianas College’s Small Business Development Center to support its small business incubator program.
Sablan in his e-kilili newsletter said the funding is an earmark that he secured in the Consolidated Appropriations Act (Public Law 117-103).
He said the funds are intended to provide existing and aspiring business owners rental space and other resources they need to start new ventures and create jobs in the Marianas.
Sablan had nine of his requests for community projects for the Marianas—worth $4.52 million—included in the federal spending bill for fiscal year 2022. The $952,393 grant for the innovation incubator at NMC is included in that nine requests.
This week’s grant award, the delegate said, comes in addition to the $659,990 renewable grant the SBDC received from the SBA in March following the enactment of his Small Business Development Act last year.
Previously, the development center at NMC was not eligible for Lead Center funding, as it was just a sub-office of Guam.
Sablan’s legislation gave the Marianas its own Lead Center.
