AEDC Announces 50 More Businesses Certified by Minority & Women-Owned Business Program

Harlem Wilson, co-owner of Certified Pies, which was added to the MWBE list last year(Karen E. Segrave)

The state’s program for certifying minority-owned, women-owned and veteran-owned businesses picked up steam in 2023, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission has announced.

Fifty more businesses were certified last year compared with 34 in 2022, bringing the total number of businesses that have been certified by the Minority & Women-Owned Business Enterprise Certification Program to 335 at year-end.

“Congratulations to the Arkansas businesses that achieved this certification in 2023,” Esperanza Massana Crane, director of the AEDC’s Small Business & Entrepreneurship Development Division, said in a news release. “The MWBE certification provides a wide range of benefits for businesses that will set them apart in a competitive landscape, and we hope that this will open the door for future opportunities for these companies.”

The AEDC also maintains a directory of women-owned, minority-owned and service-disabled veteran-owned businesses that are not certified. That directory, which contains more than 2,100 businesses, is available online.

The minority-owned business enterprises certified in 2023, by location, are:

• Alexander: Giron Painting Group LLC
• Ashdown: Full of Life Personal Care Services LLC
• Bella Vista: Sandy Bear Creek Inc.
• Benton: Allurin
• Bryant: KRB Hair Studio
• Conway: Mt. Olive Auto Transport LLC and 2nd Gen Business Development & Investments LLC
• Fayetteville: Hair Couture Inc.
• Hope: Hebrews 11:1
• Jacksonville: Williams Coaching & Counseling PLLC
• Little Rock: Blacsheep Family & Autism LLC, Casa Americana Realty, Certified Pies, Cheesecake On Point LLC, Cox Minshall Winans LLC, The Diversity Booth, Inspiring & Empowering Lives LLC, JBE Contractors Inc., KLR6 Freight LLC, Moving Beyond Limits LLC, Ms. Tan’s OCD Cleaning Services LLC, One Shot Transport LLC and Performance Tax Group & Financial Services LLC
• Marion: Kingdom Connect Consulting Services LLC
• Maumelle: Ark-La-Miss Logistics Inc.
• Monticello: Shekinah Services LLC
• North Little Rock: Excel Protection Services Inc., Hope Career Staffing LLC, JValenciaACTS LLC and Vivian Wright & Associates Inc.
• Pine Bluff: Master Floor Cleaning Inc.
• Sherwood: Q. Hathaway & Associates LLC

The newly certified women-owned business enterprises are:

• Des Arc: Hendry Hardwoods LLC
• Fayetteville: Marlon Blackwell Architects PA
• Fort Smith: Midwest Education Consultants Inc.
• Harrison: Harness Safety Systems
• Lowell: Hartley Commercial
• Mena: Aleshire Electric Inc.
• Little Rock: Dr. Dawn ShopTalk, Environmental Services Co. Inc., GWL Advertising Inc., Johnson Consulting LLC Historic Preservation & Design, Phillips Development Corp., Premier Benefit Management and Trio’s Inc.
• Mountain Home: Masketeers LLC
• Rogers: Floormaps
• Russellville: Industrial Restoration Systems Inc.
• Wynne: Autumn Bauer Holdings Inc.

G2 Initiatives LLC in Bryant is a newly certified service-disabled veteran-owned business enterprise.