A Membership Organization for Small and Mid-sized Businesses

Thousands of member companies have helped the Midlantic Business Alliance become the region's largest association dedicated exclusively to the needs and concerns of small and medium-sized businesses.

A Pennsylvania non-profit business association with over 4,000 member companies throughout the greater Philadelphia region, MBA was chartered as the Small Business Association of Delaware Valley (SBADV) in 1979 and became active in January 1980 with just 55 members.

It published its first newsletter July of 1980. By December, membership increased to 493. At this time, the association also became the first business group to lobby for and get health insurance for association members.

Growing solely by word of mouth, the association continued to grow claiming more than 3,000 members before the end of 1986. That steady growth helped the association to achieve a more powerful voice on behalf of its members, and benefits to members expanded to include dental, life, disability insurance, vision plans and discounts for bank cards.

Also during this period, the association's federal credit union merged with the Sun East Federal Credit Union, providing association members with a full menu of financial services.

The 90's saw a continued trend of member referrals and impressive growth in the advocacy positions of the association. The association received national attention for its defense of mandated health insurance and government deregulation.

As MBA enters a new century it has begun focusing attention on issues relating to small business success in a global community rather than a narrowly defined local community.