Entrepreneurial & Business Collaborative Awarded Four Grants

SPRINGFIELD — The Entrepreneurial & Business Collaborative (E&BC), based in Springfield, provides guidance, support, resources, and leadership-development programs to help both entrepreneurs and their businesses grow. The Healey-Driscoll administration recently awarded E&BC $315,000 in grants to advance clean-energy workforce development and help minority- and women-owned businesses (MWBEs) in climate-critical sectors.

“We are grateful to the Healey-Driscoll administration in selecting us as grant recipient,” said Ron Molina-Brantley, founder and CEO of E&BC. “This important work will drive research and planning efforts to help guide workforce development in clean energy. Collaborating with local organizations and entrepreneurs is part of our mission. We look forward to the future impact these grants will make on communities, climate change, reducing pollution, and job creation in Massachusetts.”

The grants were allocated as follows:

• $100,000 to create a comprehensive program report to serve as a critical road map, delineating clear pathways for MWBEs to access capital within the clean-energy sector;

• $35,000 to draft a plan to launch the Clean Start for Equal Energy Program, which guides MWBEs from concept to tangible reality of product development;

• $150,000 in partnership with former E&BC Consolidated Accelerator Program participant and now MWBE grantee Grounded Services LLC. E&BC will focus on program design and adding the capacity needed to launch comprehensive training focused on renewable-energy systems and modern electrical infrastructures with the goal of addressing the critical shortage of skilled electricians in Massachusetts. The program will target residents of environmental-justice communities and combine industry-relevant courses, hands-on field training, and personalized case management; and

• $30,000 to address the growing demand for EV technicians to service and repair electric vehicles. Currently, Springfield Technical Community College is working with E&BC to research employer demand, curriculum design, certification, and hands-on training needs to help prepare the workforce for the expanding clean-energy sector. Both the research and plan are important because Massachusetts is looking at workforce development as the state accelerates its transition to clean energy and the adoption of electric vehicles.