Mississippi
| Program | # of Grants | EDA Funds |
|---|---|---|
| Economic Adjustment Assistance | 1 | $400,000 |
| Public Works | 1 | $857,000 |
| Disaster Relief | 2 | $5,690,933 |
| Planning | 7 | $1,045,400 |
| Technical Assistance | 1 | $128,592 |
| Total | 12 | $8,121,925 |
During Fiscal Year 2013, EDA invested $8,121,925 in 12 projects in the State of Mississippi. These projects are expected to create or retain 415 jobs and leverage $115,786,500 in private investment, according to grantee estimates. EDA’s investments help Mississippi communities achieve bottom-up, locally-defined economic development goals and strategies.
EDA offers a complementary, balanced portfolio of grant programs designed to help rural and urban communities grow their private sectors and create jobs.
Investment Spotlight: Growing Automotive and Furniture Manufacturing
Increased opportunities for trade have led many successful businesses to move manufacturing operations overseas. Even regions with well-established industries, embedded supply chains, and experienced workforces are no longer safe from foreign competition. At the same time, for many businesses, survival no longer depends on simply increasing sales at home, but the ability to enter foreign markets.
The tremendous increase in trade the U.S. has experienced in recent years not only brings increased competition, but also significant potential to expand U.S. industries’ reach abroad. Mississippi is taking advantage of these opportunities. In 2013, EDA announced Mississippi State University (MSU) as a winner of the Make It in America Challenge. EDA’s $400,000 investment helps MSU and its partners develop and implement specific strategies and initiatives to strengthen the existing automotive and furniture manufacturing clusters in the region to drive job creation, business formation, export promotion, and the attraction of foreign direct investment. This project will enhance the capacity of the state’s workforce to fill the needs of industries throughout these manufacturer’s supply chains, promoting exports, attracting foreign investment, and creating jobs state-wide.
The strong partnerships that MSU has formed to support its efforts are key to the success of this initiative. The Make It in Mississippi team includes the Franklin Furniture Institute, the Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems Extension Center, the National Strategic Planning and Research Center, Mississippi Development Authority, and the Innovate Mississippi/Innovate MEP-Manufacturing Extension Partnership.