IDEA Act of 2021

To establish a grant program to provide minority business enterprises access to entrepreneurship opportunities, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Increasing and Developing Entrepreneurship Access Act of 2021 IDEA Act of 2021 2. Grants to provide minority business enterprises access to entrepreneurship opportunities (a) Establishment Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this section, the National Director of the Minority Business Development Agency of the Department of Commerce shall establish a program to provide grants to business accelerator entities to provide entrepreneurship opportunities to minority business enterprises. (b) Application The National Director may provide a grant under this section to a business accelerator entity only if the entity submits to the National Director an application at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the National Director may reasonably require. (c) Amount and duration The amount of a grant provided under this section shall be $1,000,000 each year for five consecutive years. (d) Federal share The Federal share of a grant provided this section to a business accelerator entity may not exceed 75 percent of the total amount of funds provided by the entity to carry out activities using grant funds. (e) Use of funds (1) In general A grant provided under this section shall be used by a business accelerator entity to provide— (A) capital, including direct cash transfers of grant funds, to minority business enterprises in the region; (B) networking programs that connect minority business enterprises to sources of capital and innovation in the region; and (C) any other assistance that the National Director determines to be appropriate for minority business enterprises in the region. (2) Region described A region described in this subsection is a region in which not less than 15 minority business enterprises with revenues not less than $250,000 are located. (f) Report The National Director shall submit to Congress, for each fiscal year in which the Director provides grants under this section, a report on the program established under this section, including— (1) an identification of the number of grants provided in such fiscal year and the total amount of such grants; (2) an identification of the number of minority business enterprises that have received assistance from such entities in such fiscal year; and (3) a description of any noncompliance by any business accelerator entity and the amount of funds such entity has received. (g) Misdemeanor A business accelerator entity that receives a grant under this section that knowingly uses amounts under the grant for any purpose not otherwise permitted under the program established by this section or who knowingly attempts to do so, shall be fined as provided in title 18, United States Code, or imprisoned for not more than one year, or both. (h) Definitions In this section: (1) Business accelerator entity The term business accelerator entity (A) engages in a partnership with public or private organizations that target minority business enterprises; (B) provides opportunities to scale minority owned business enterprises through seed investment or networking opportunities; or (C) offers start-up capital or opportunities to raise capital from outside investors for minority business enterprises. (2) Minority business enterprise The term minority business enterprise 15 U.S.C. 9007(a) (3) National director The term National Director (i) Authorization of appropriations There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2022 through 2026.

Summary: Increasing and Developing Entrepreneurship Access Act of 2021 or the IDEA Act of 2021 This bill requires the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) to establish a grant program to provide entrepreneurship opportunities for minority businesses. These grants shall be awarded to business accelerators for providing (1) capital to minority businesses, (2) networking programs that connect such businesses to sources of capital and innovation, and (3) other appropriate assistance. The MBDA must submit an annual report on the program that includes the number of grants provided, the number of minority businesses that have received assistance from grant recipients, and a description of any noncompliance by grant recipients. The bill also establishes penalties (a fine or imprisonment) for a grant recipient that knowingly uses award amounts for any purpose not permitted under the program.