Empire State Development Corporation

Minority and Women-Owned Business Development and Lending Program (Follow-Up Report)

The Minority and Women-Owned Business Development and Lending Program was created in 1987 to facilitate the flow of lending and investment capital to minority and women-owned business enterprises. In the program, grants and low-interest loans are made available to the targeted population through the assistance of financial institutions and not-for-profit organizations. The program is administered by the Empire State Development Corporation. In audit report 2001-S-55, we found that a number of improvements were needed if the program was to be effective. In particular, a high percentage of program funds sat idle due to a lack of eligible projects. We also found that funded projects were often delayed, and funds that were earmarked for technical assistance could be used for administrative purposes instead. We made recommendations to improve the administration of the program, and when we followed up with ESDC officials, we found that they had made some progress in correcting the problems we identified.

For a complete copy of Report 2005-F-26 click here.
For a copy of the 30-day response click here.