Women Entrepreneurs Get Plugged into the Financial Game

Women Entrepreneurs Get Plugged into the Financial Game

PGCEDC Launches Step Forward Program to Increase Capital Reach for Minority Women Business Owners
in Prince George’s County

Women-owned businesses now have a program focused specifically on getting them in the best business shape to pursue business capital. The Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation (PGCEDC) just launched its Step Forward program for women-owned business this week. Step Forward is designed to assist women-owned businesses in getting the right connections in order to accelerate business growth.

Alicia Moran, Manager of Small Business Services at PGCEDC, says that the Step Forward program “will provide programming, counseling, and peer-to-peer learning opportunities, as well as enhance financial literacy and loan readiness to minority led small businesses. This program is different in that it is specifically designed to help female led county-located companies move forward with enhanced financial management skills. A program like this can incredibly impact small business growth in one of the fastest growing groups of entrepreneurs – women of color.”

A few of the expected program outcomes for Step Forward participants include their ability to identify loan package deficiencies/shortfalls, have a completed loan application package ready to submit for funding and have their loan application pre-viewed/prequalified by lenders.

Funded by a grant from Wells Fargo, Step Forward is a cohort of ten (10) women-owned businesses based in Prince George’s County that are competitively selected on annual basis to join the program. Participants will meet one-on-one with a business and/or banking counselor to work directly on their specific needs as well as strengthen and/or mitigate shortfalls in their loan packages. Once a month, the Step Forward cohort will come together to participate in intense training sessions with industry experts to navigate the financing process from start to finish. A few of the expected program outcomes for Step Forward participants are that they will be able to identify loan package deficiencies/shortfalls, have a completed loan application package ready to submit for funding and have their loan application pre-viewed/prequalified by lenders.

The first session held this week covered proper business structure. Attorney Midgett S. Parker, Esq. led an engaging session on choosing the proper business structure, building a team of experts to support it and the many ways to source business capital. Participants were excited to have an industry expert guide them through the process of making sure that their businesses were structured in the most successful way.

To get to know our 2022 Step Forward cohort, track their progress through the program and celebrate their successes connect with the PGCEDC at www.pgcedc.com/stepforward or follow us @pgcedc on Facebook/Instagram and @ExpandPGC on Twitter. For more on the overall business resources of the PGCEDC visit https://www.pgcedc.com/business-resources.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION DISTRIBUTES MORE THAN HALF A MILLION DOLLARS TO LOCAL PERSONAL SERVICE BUSINESSES

As the business community continues to feel the impact of COVID-19 on the global economy, today the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) announced the results of its Personal Services E-Business Grant. The E-Business Grant, which drew more than 250 applications, was focused on assisting local small business community by providing funding for technical support of their businesses. Generously funded by a grant from the Maryland Department of Commerce’s Maryland Economic Development Assistance Authority and Fund, 147 Prince George’s County personal services business owners’ applications were approved, providing more than $660,000 in grant assistance.

“This personal services business grant will help bridge the gap between County businesses and potential customers. Having a robust website with online sales capabilities and the ability to interact with your customer base is key to being competitive in this tough economy,” said Ebony Stocks, Executive Vice President of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation. “The EDC is happy to support Prince George’s County businesses and the personal services industry in particular because as they extend their reach, it also means that they are expanding their growth.”

The Personal Services E-Business Grant program provided grants of $5,000 to Prince George’s County-based personal services businesses to support increased foot traffic to brick-and-mortar establishments, improvements to point of sale technology, and cross-channel functionality. The grant could also be utilized to establish or expand online sales capabilities, obtain real-time insights into customers, for scheduling, and for inventory management.  In total, 147 companies received grants of either $2,500 or $5,000 to support their e-business operations.

Over the last 12 months, the EDC has distributed more than $40M in grants to County businesses, supporting job creation and sustainability for thousands of employers. For more information about technical assistance programs, grants or the many other services provided by the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation, please visit www.pgcedc.com.

PGCEDC participates in Economic Forecast

EDC President and CEO David Iannucci participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Central Maryland Chamber of Commerce Economic Forecast at the Jockey Club in Laurel. Joined by Anne Arundel Economic Development President Ben Birge and Howard County Economic Development President Larry Twele, the three talked about their respective jurisdictions’ dramatic pivots when Covid-19 hit in March 2020. Since last Spring, all three Economic Development Organizations (EDOs) have become grant writing organizations, helping businesses, restaurants, childcare facilities, hotels adjust and survive the shutdown.  The Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation alone put out more than $44 million in grants to 1500 businesses and helped save 4,000 jobs. 

The panelists also discussed MNCREDA (the Maryland National Capital Regional Economic Development Alliance), whose membership includes the six suburban Maryland counties. The group meets weekly to collaborate on economic development, best practices, shared challenges, and management issues and has recently been praised by local media on the level of economic development cooperation among the six counties.   

Mr. Iannucci also talked about the quantum computing potential in College Park at the University of Maryland, and the vision of a quantum ecosystem that is recognized worldwide. He also talked about the success of logistics, warehousing, and last-mile centers in Prince George’s County and the incredible demand for such space because of everyone buying online now.

County priorities that were highlighted included the new Regional Medical Center in Largo, and the vision for downtown Prince George's to be built across from the hospital by RPAI/KITE; the Blue Line Corridor, TOD growth, and efforts put into addressing food deserts. 

Larry Twele, from Howard County, also talked about how Maryland is now able to compete for data centers urbanization of downtown Columbia, and Ben Birge from Anne Arundel County commented on the great growth from NSA and huge business community around the County.  

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Inc. 5000 announces Prince George's County's fastest growing companies in 2021

Prince George's County is rapidly expanding. According to this year's Inc. 5000 rankings, 19 County firms are among the fastest-growing in the country.

Yesterday's announcement included 2 County firms among the top 500 organizations and 9 repeat recipients, with the total list encompassing areas such as IT management, retail, and government services.

The Windsor Group, LLC holds the title for this year’s top growing company in Prince George’s County. Founded in 2017, Windsor Group, LLC provides professional services and business solutions to federal government agencies. Their major clients include the Department of Treasury, Department of Agriculture, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Army and Air Force, as well as the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Repeat awardees include Premier Enterprise Solutions, a woman-owned, certified participant in the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) 8(a) and HUBZone program, and a certified Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). PES focuses on Cyber Security, Enterprise Operations, Supply Chain and Workforce Productivity, and cloud services.

We are Prince George’s Proud of our County companies who not only continue to call Prince George’s home but continues to expand!

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Fastest Growing Companies in Prince George’s County

Rank Company Growth Industry City 191 Windsor Group 2225% Business Products &Services College Park 361 Diaconia 1317% IT Management College Park 516 The Tree Center 947% Retail Upper Marlboro 692 SanDow Construction 706% Construction Bladensburg 987 Premier Enterprise Solutions 488% IT Management Upper Marlboro 1,107 Digital Forensic Services 439% Security  Greenbelt 1,126 Mobile Video Guard 380% Security  Lanham 1346 Perfect Office Solutions 354% Real Estate Beltsville 1,599 E-Infosol 292% Government Services Calverton 1,683 Hungry Harvest 272% Food & Beverage Landover 2901 Civilitiy Management Solutions 135% Business Products &Services Greenbelt 3004 Ops Tech Alliane 127% It Services Bowie 3199 T-Rex Solutions 115% It Systems Development Greenbelt 3575 FYI - For Your Information 95% Government Services Beltsville 3689 Systems Engineering Solutions Corporation (SES) 91% Government Services Greenbelt 3748 Grant Leading Technology  88% IT Management Riverdale 3898 Cloudforce 81% IT Management National Harbor 3908 Paradyme Management  80% IT Management Greenbelt 4324 The Bizell Group 66% Business Products &Services New Carrollton 4443 Swingtech Consulting 61% IT Management Greenbelt

View this year’s Inc. 5000 list in its entirety.

ICYMI: 2021 State of the Economy Address

ICYMI: 2021 State of the Economy Address

The Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation in partnership with the Greater Prince George's Business Roundtable invited the community to the Prince George's County "State of the Economy" Virtual Address with County Executive Angela Alsobrooks. This virtual event will covered new plans for economic development throughout the County, engaging the County’s workforce, the impact of COVID-19 on the economy, as well as its recovery and reopening.

Production Company:

Sponsors

Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation Mourns The Passing Of Milt Peterson

The passing of Milt Peterson is truly a sad day for Prince George's County. It is hard to think of anyone who has been more responsible for transforming and uplifting the image and the reputation of Prince George's County than Milt Peterson.  He looked at a worn out sand and gravel pit on the Potomac River, and transformed it into an internationally recognized destination. The Gaylord Hotel, Tanger Outlets, and the MGM National Harbor Hotel and Casino are all part of his successful vision for National Harbor. 

Milt must be recognized for the giant that he was; for it was his vision, his courage, and his drive that made National Harbor the amazing success that it has become.  He stepped in where many others before him had failed, and made National Harbor a reality, a testament to his skill and determination in understanding development potential.  Prince George's County is a better place because of Milt Peterson.

The Prince George's County Economic Development Corporation extends its deepest sympathies to the family of Milt Peterson, especially to Jon Peterson, a former member of the EDC Board of Directors. 

THE DATA IS IN: PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY IS NOW ONE OF THE BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD FOR DATA CENTERS

THE DATA IS IN: PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY IS NOW ONE OF THE BEST PLACES IN THE WORLD FOR DATA CENTERS

With the exponential growth of online and cloud computing, exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic and dramatic increases in digital data worldwide, there has never been a time when “Data Centers” have been more in demand. Prince George’s County, Maryland has responded to this demand by aggressively positioning itself to compete for data centers with any other place in the U.S.

By definition, a data center is “a facility that centralizes an organization's shared IT operations and equipment for the purposes of storing, processing, and disseminating data and applications.” However, a data center is far more than that. It is the true lifeline for any business that uses data and/or stores information. And individuals, whether they know it or not, rely on data centers for more of their everyday lives as well.

Data centers come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from a portion of a floor in an office building to a massive free-standing structure with hundreds of thousands of square feet for equipment. In addition to data centers being large in size, they can also have a tremendous effect on the local economy. A complete data center may create over 100-150 jobs paying almost $8 million in total annual salaries. Each year, a single data center could add over $30 million into the local economy while generating over $1 million annually in real and personal property tax revenue. And according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, when an average data center is being built, it employs over 1,500 local workers providing over $75 million in wages for those employees. The construction alone produces over $200 million in output for the local economy’s supply chain, while generating almost $10 million in revenue for state and local governments. Most importantly, data centers cost virtually nothing in local services, meaning their tax revenue is available to a jurisdiction to support schools, recreation, and public safety needs.

With the potential of this enormous economic impact, the state of Maryland, and more specifically Prince George’s County, has recently passed new legislation that will make it easier and less expensive for data centers to operate in Prince George’s County, Maryland.

In 2020, the Maryland General Assembly passed and the Governor signed legislation to allow data centers to receive a substantial tax reduction while operating in the state of Maryland. The Data Center Maryland Sales and Use Tax Exemption Program (DCMSUTEP)permits data centers that operate or expand in Maryland to be tax exempt from the state’s 6% sales and use tax for up to 20 years.

Going above and beyond the state’s legislation, Prince George’s County is providing additional incentives to encourage data centers to locate here. At the urging of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation (PGCEDC) Prince George’s County enacted local legislation authorizing the County to negotiate a partial or full reduction in the County’s personal property taxes on data centers. Following that, the County Council adopted legislation that accelerates the permitting process for data centers. This new bill creates a “90-Day-by-Right Review and Approval Process”, reducing the approval processing time from what was over a year, to 90 days.

Thanks to the PGCEDC, the Office of the County Executive and the County Council, Prince George’s County, Maryland is now one of the best places to operate a data center in the United States. Prince George’s County has the land, supportive utilities, and now has a very significant tax incentive program and a streamlined permitting process for data centers. Most importantly, we want your business. For more information about locating your data center in Prince George’s County please contact the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation or visit www.pgcedc.com/data-center-sites .

IS PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY LITERALLY MAKING MONEY? COULD BE SOON….

IS PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY LITERALLY MAKING MONEY?
COULD BE SOON….

The US Army Corps of Engineers, acting on behalf of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), is recommending building and operating a new currency production facility at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center (BARC) in Prince George’s County, MD. This new facility will replace the current production facility located in downtown Washington, DC that was initially constructed in 1914. The original building has undergone multiple renovations, however as currency production has modernized and added more intricate processes and security features, the existing facility is no longer able to sustain an effective manufacturing process.

The BEP has reviewed multiple options to upgrade the existing currency production facility, however these studies concluded that new construction would prove to be a more cost-effective method to accommodate the necessary security enhancements. According to the Maryland Department of Commerce, building this new facility will save over $600 million to the taxpayers versus attempting to upgrade the current facility.

Not only will building a new facility save taxpayers money, but it will significantly impact the Prince George’s County economy. During the National Capital Planning Commission's briefing on BEP moving to Prince George's County last week, President and CEO of the Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation David Iannucci stated “Building a new engraving and printing facility in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center will add 1,427 well-paying federal jobs to Prince George's County which are estimated to create over $15 million in total annual earnings.”

In addition, the BEP employees will have a positive impact on the local economy, as there are 2,000 retailers employing over 25,000 employees within a five-mile radius of BARC. Furthermore, building this new facility will create approximately 1,700 construction jobs resulting in estimated total earnings of $1.5 million over the life of the construction project.

Prince George’s County has supported this project since in 2018. More recently, County Executive Angela Alsobrooks penned a letter of support to the facility project manager for the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. In addition, Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan delivered a message to congressional leaders encouraging them to pass a bill that authorized the land transfer and the construction of the facility on Beltsville Agricultural Research Center campus. Once approved, this new facility will join several existing federal facilities already located in Prince George’s County such as Goddard Space Flight Center, the Census Bureau, the IRS, NOOA, Joint Base Andrews, and most recently the Citizenship Immigration Service which brought 3,800 jobs to the County.

The Prince George’s County economy continues to grow by adding more jobs and more revenue to the county. With the addition of the new Bureau of Engraving and Printing facility in the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center the County will literally “make more money” and put more dollars to work.

E.T. PHONED HOME, BUT GODDARD IS BRINGING MARS TO PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

E.T. PHONED HOME, BUT GODDARD IS BRINGING MARS TO PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY

By: The Prince George’s County Economic Development Corporation

On Aug. 7, 1959 Explorer 6 was launched into space. This was also the first launch that featured equipment created by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, located right here in Prince George’s County. Goddard crafted the technology onboard Explorer 6 to study radiation, geomagnetism and radio propagation in Earth’s upper atmosphere. As well as to test a scanning device intended for producing images of Earth's cloud cover.

Ever since the launch in 1959, Goddard has been instrumental in numerous NASA space explorations. For example, in 1962 Goddard was heavily involved in the Aerial 1 space mission which featured the first international satellite as a joint venture between the United Kingdom and the United States.

In the 1980’s Goddard Space Flight Center created the COBE satellite to measure infrared and microwave radiation created in the universe millions of years ago. This mission earned Goddard's Dr. John Mather, the project scientist for COBE, his share of the 2006 Nobel Prize in physics.

Another great accomplishment of Goddard was the Landsat Mission which was the first mission to collect pictures of Earth's surfaces from outer space. It produced first-class images for 28 years and 10 months, making it the official Guinness World Record holder for "Longest-operating Earth observation satellite." 

Most recently The Goddard Space Flight Center was the top contributor to exploring the surface of Mars. In 2011 Goddard was instrumental in developing “Curiosity,” a rover designed to explore the Gale crater on Mars. While successful, “Curiosity” still left several questions unanswered that NASA believes can only be answered by collecting data an analyzing it here. Thus, a decade later, Goddard developed critical parts of the Perseverance rover which landed on Mars in February of 2021. Perseverance’s mission is to collect samples from the surface of Mars and for the first time return these samples to Earth.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center has been doing incredible things for several decades. Now, we may finally have answers to questions that have been asked for centuries all over the world. Questions such as, “Is there life on Mars, can people live on Mars, and even when was Mars first created? All thanks to the amazing technologies developed at Goddard Space Flight Center located right here in Prince George’s County.

Give our Regards to Wall Street! Prince George’s County Company goes public with a $2B valuation

This week, quantum giant IonQ, out of College Park, Maryland became the first publicly traded quantum technology firm company on the New York Stock Exchange. Its initial valuation is estimated to be approximately $2 Billion. IonQ is a quantum computer company, founded in 2015 by Chris Monroe and Jungsang Kim and led by CEO Peter Chapman with seed funding and a license to core technology from the University of Maryland and Duke University. After 25 years of academic research, the goal of taking trapped ion quantum computing out of the lab in College Park and into the market commercialized with the support of their partners, DMY Technology.

Quantum has long been touted as the next frontier in technology. Such computers would be capable of simulating and understanding phenomena in the natural world instantly and providing the basis for systems that are unhackable. Intel Corp. and Microsoft Corp., among other companies, are also working to advance quantum computing. The technology also has potential implications for producing new materials or creating new drugs.

Prince George’s County is proud to celebrate IonQ and all the incredible innovations and commercializing taking place at the University of Maryland flagship in College Park and throughout the County. Give our regards to Wall Street!