The National Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce (NPRCC) has submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) on the performance data collections for its Capital Readiness Program and Business Center Program (OMB Control Number 0640-0025).
Both programs provide technical assistance and capital access to minority-owned businesses, including Puerto Rican and Hispanic-owned firms in Puerto Rico, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, and Illinois. NPRCC supports continuing both programs and the collections that measure their results.
In its comments, NPRCC recommended that MBDA:
Report program results for Puerto Rico and other territories as separate line items, using territory-appropriate fields such as municipio
Offer Spanish-language client forms and instructions, and account for that time in burden estimates
Define capital-access and job outcomes consistently across both programs and allow longer-term results to be recorded
Reduce burden with a single shared intake record, prefilled information, and electronic signatures
Keep a paper or offline option for clients with limited broadband
“Performance data is how policymakers see whether these programs reach the businesses they are meant to serve,” said Joel Berrocal, Executive Director of NPRCC. “Accessible data collection makes sure Puerto Rican and Hispanic small businesses are fully counted.”