Connecting Capital, Businesses, and Communities

Originally established in 1990, MBAC, formed in 1999, and its affiliated Gateway Economic Development District (GEDD), perform economic development and community development activities in Lewis and Clark, Broadwater, Meagher, and North Jefferson counties. MBAC supports businesses through access to capital, technical assistance, economic development initiatives, and connections to a broad network of public and private resources. MBAC’s revolving loan programs alone draw upon multiple federal, state, local, and private funding relationships, providing businesses with financing options that complement traditional lending and help move viable projects forward.

That collaborative model has produced measurable results. Since inception, MBAC has utilized private and public capital resources and professional business helping create or retain more than 2,500+ regional jobs and facilitating the investment of more than $100+ million in public and private funds into the regional economy. Today, MBAC operates within a regional economy representing approximately 90,000 residents, 49,000 workers, and more than 3,300 businesses, while stewarding an organization reporting approximately $15.5 million in total assets as of year-end 2024.

MBAC’s governance and partnerships reflect the same regional approach. Representatives from the public and private sector provide leadership and perspective to help ensure that MBAC’s priorities remain firmly grounded in the needs of the local people, businesses, communities, and regional economy today, and generations to come.

Service Area and Regional Economic Snapshot

MBAC serves a diverse and evolving regional economy shaped by the intersection of Montana’s capital region, growing communities, rural economies, established industries, and emerging business opportunities. Across its service area, population and workforce trends, business activity, infrastructure investment, and access to capital create both opportunities and challenges for sustainable economic growth. Understanding these market dynamics is essential to MBAC’s role—helping align capital, partnerships, and economic-development resources with the businesses and communities that will drive the region’s next chapter.

MBAC is the Capital Region of Central Montana and incorporates the central portion of the State of Montana, east of the Continental Divide. It is defined by large mountain ranges with expansive river valley bottoms. The modern history of the region evolves out of placer gold deposits that spurred agriculture and logging to support the boom towns of the region.

The region is spread over 7,132 square miles. The 2026 projected population for Lewis and Clark County is approximately 90,000. This projection assumes an annual rate of change of 1.7%, consistent with the 8.3% population change from 2019 to 2024 according to the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The regional economy is supported by state government, healthcare, education, agriculture, manufacturing, construction, tourism, and a diverse network of small businesses and entrepreneurs.