Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

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MBDA Atlanta is hosting the National MBE Manufacturers Summit Aug. 11-13th

July 11, 2019 By Nancy Cleveland

The Atlanta MBDA Business and Advanced Manufacturing Center, operated by Georgia Tech Research Corporation, is hosting the National MBE Manufacturers Summit 2019 on Aug. 11-13th, 2019 at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center, 84 5th Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30308.  The event provides leading Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) manufacturers the opportunity to assemble, build connections and create new business opportunities.  Over 600 attendees from 28 states, Puerto Rico, Canada and Washington, D.C. have experienced the significant impact of participating in this national gathering of the manufacturing community.

Here are the details:

Event name:  The National MBE Manufacturers Summit 2019 (NMMS 2019) – “Creating the NEXT: Intelligent Manufacturing Reality”

Date:  August 11-13, 2019

Location:  Georgia Tech Global Learning Center, 84 5th Street, NW, Atlanta, GA 30308

Please note:  This is not a free event.  There is a fee associated with attending.  Tickets are available here.

The main website with event details and agenda is:  http://mbemanufacturersummit.com/

Filed Under: GTPAC News Tagged With: advanced manufacturing, manuafacturing, manufacturer, manufacturers, MBDA, NMMS

Senator calls on agencies to streamline programs for entrepreneurs

November 28, 2017 By Nancy Cleveland

One lawmaker wants agencies to reexamine their efforts to support entrepreneurs after a watchdog group determined more could be done to streamline many often inefficient and redundant programs to assist small businesses.

On Nov. 17th, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., sent letters to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Small Business Administration leader Linda McMahon requesting analyses of their agency’s entrepreneur assistance initiatives and information on how they measure the effectiveness of the programs.

The Government Accountability Office reported in 2012 that each of the 52 entrepreneur support programs at Commerce, SBA and other agencies overlapped with at least one other program in the type of assistance they offer or the type of entrepreneur they serve. The fragmented system was often difficult for business owners to navigate, and GAO advised agencies to collaborate to streamline the process and also create a system to monitor the performance of individual programs.

Keep reading this article at: http://www.govexec.com/management/2017/11/senator-calls-agencies-streamline-programs-entrepreneurs/142682

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: Commerce Dept., GAO. entrepreneurship, MBDA, SBA, SBDC, Senate

Bipartisan Senate bill introduced to protect small businesses from contracting fraud

May 4, 2017 By Nancy Cleveland

U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI) and Susan Collins (R-ME) are introducing bipartisan legislation to help protect small businesses from falling victim to fraud when they register as vendors for federal contracts.

The Procurement Fraud Prevention Act would require small businesses to be notified that free assistance is available for help in procuring federal contracts through federal programs, including Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs), the Small Business Administration (SBA), and the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).  Many business owners are unaware these resources exist and fall victim to scams that mislead them into paying high sums of money for contract procurement assistance.

All small businesses applying for federal contracting opportunities must register in the General Services Administration’s System for Award Management (SAM). Unfortunately, bad actors obtain businesses’ contact information from this public database and then email business owners asking for high sums of money in return for registration and contracting assistance. Some scammers impersonate government officials in order to mislead businesses into paying for these services.  As a result, many small businesses unwittingly sign up for services they were not seeking at the cost of hundreds or thousands of dollars. While various firms provide legitimate contracting assistance, bad actors intentionally use predatory tactics to drain money from small businesses.

The Procurement Fraud Prevention Act will require GSA and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to ensure that any direct communication to a small business about its registration in a procurement system, including SAM, contains information about cost-free federal procurement technical assistance services available through PTACs, SBA, MBDA, and other programs. These services — like those offered by the Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center (GTPAC) — are readily available to help small businesses succeed.

PTACs across the country, including GTPAC, regularly report small businesses coming to them after these fraudulent encounters, seeking corrective action, with some PTACs reporting up to 10 fraudulent solicitations per week.  The Georgia Tech PTAC serves 2,200 businesses across Georgia through offices in Atlanta, Gainesville, Carrollton, Athens, Augusta, Savannah, Albany, and Warner Robins.

“The nation’s small businesses are being exploited by fraudulent operators who mislead federal contracting newcomers into believing that they must pay exorbitant registration fees in order to be eligible for government contracts,” said Terri Bennett, president of the Association of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (APTAC).  “The legislation introduced by Senator Gary Peters and Senator Susan Collins will require federal agencies to be proactive in notifying small businesses that the help they need is available at no cost through programs like the nationwide network of Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs).  This should go a long way to stop the exploitation of small businesses.”

“Small businesses would benefit greatly from the Procurement Fraud Prevention Act,” said John Arensmeyer, Founder & CEO of Small Business Majority. “Many small businesses are falling victim to scams after they register with the System for Award Management to compete for a contract because they do not realize they are entitled to free registration and procurement assistance through existing federal programs. Small business owners have enough to worry about without scammers making them think they need to pay additional fees to compete, and we encourage lawmakers to approve the Procurement Fraud Prevention Act in order to make the federal contract procurement process as painless as possible for small firms.”

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: abuse, APTAC, DSBS, federal contracting, fraud, free instruction, free SAM assistance, free SAM help, free SAM registration, GLS, GSA, GTPAC, MBDA, OMB, Pro-Net, registration, SAM, sam is free, SBA, small business

U.S. Commerce Department awards 5-year grant to MBDA Business Center-Atlanta

May 27, 2016 By Nancy Cleveland

MBDA Business CenterThe U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) named Georgia Tech Research Corp. as a grant recipient to continue to operate an MBDA Business Center in Atlanta.

The federal funding will be distributed during a five-year period that ends in 2021. The funding amount per year is $298,255 for a total of $1.49 million.

The grant program is designed to help minority-owned firms across the nation create jobs, develop their business, and compete in the global economy.

“We are extremely pleased and honored the U.S. Department of Commerce has renewed our funding for another five-year term,” said Donna Ennis, director of the MBDA Business Center-Atlanta. “Our team has been busy working with businesses across Georgia and the Southeast helping to build not only the strength of minority-owned businesses, but the state’s and region’s economy as a whole.”

A key component of MBDA’s Business Center Network is providing minority firms with access to technical expertise and resources to grow their businesses.

In the five-year period ending in 2015, MBDA Business Center-Atlanta helped 462 minority-owned businesses:

  • secure more than $577 million in contracts and procurement
  • access $177 million in capital
  • create or save 4,987 jobs

Ennis leads the MBDA Advanced Manufacturing Working Group, which is building a nationwide community of Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) manufacturers through its national network of 44 MBDA Business Centers. As part of that initiative, she launched the Connecting Advanced Manufacturing Program (CAMP) focused on providing contracting opportunities; assistance with launching new technologies, and building a nationwide ecosystem of MBE manufacturers. That led to the National MBE Manufacturers Summit 2016 at Georgia Tech this past March 24.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2012 Survey of Business Owners, minority-owned firms in the United States increased to 8 million in 2012 from 5.8 million in 2007. Those 8 million businesses employed 7.2 million Americans.

In Georgia, there are 371,588 minority-owned firms that contribute more than $38.4 billion annually in economic output. These firms employ more than 202,000 Georgians.

Since 2009, MBDA Business Centers have assisted minority firms with gaining access to more than $31 billion in capital and contracts, while creating and retaining nearly 142,000 jobs.

About the MBDA Business Center-Atlanta

Established in 2004 and part of the Georgia Institute of Technology, the MBDA Business Center-Atlanta is a member of the national network of the U.S. Department of Commerce Minority Business Development Agency. The MBDA Business Center-Atlanta provides business and technical assistance to help emerging and existing minority business enterprises achieve significant growth and sustainability and create long-term economic impact through increased jobs and revenue.

Filed Under: Georgia Tech News Tagged With: Commerce Dept., Georgia Tech, MBDA, MBE, minority owned business

OPIC to hold small business outreach event May 3rd in Atlanta and June 16th in Houston

April 18, 2016 By Nancy Cleveland

OPICAs more U.S. small businesses participate in the global marketplace, they are facing new questions and challenges.  Lack of knowledge about government programs available to support overseas investment, limited access to private sector-capital to pursue opportunities abroad, or concern over political risks in emerging markets can prevent small business from expanding overseas.

The Expanding Horizons workshop is the premier outreach event conducted by the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).  The event is coming to Atlanta on May 3, 2016 to be held at This event is at the Omni Atlanta Hotel at CNN Center.  OPIC is the U.S. government agency responsible for supporting private-sector investment in developing countries. This is a unique opportunity to learn about:

  • How expanding overseas can benefit your business at home.
  • U.S. government programs offering assistance to small and medium sized enterprises planning to go global.
  • Political risk insurance and how it can protect your business.
  • Accessing capital for your overseas project.
  • Current opportunities in the renewable energy and clean technology sector.
  • OPIC’s special finance products for small businesses.

Speakers include senior government officials from OPIC, as well as from the Small Business Administration, the Export-Import Bank of the U.S., the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, the U.S. Department of Commerce, including the U.S. Commercial Service and the Minority Business Development Agency; and other agencies and representatives from businesses investing overseas who will share their insights and experiences.

Additionally, excellent networking opportunities will be available and participants will have the opportunity to arrange one-on-one meetings with OPIC and other government officials.

To learn more and to register for the May 3 event go to: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/opic-workshops-for-small-businesses-entering-emerging-markets-registration-21090960631.  There is a $50 registration fee for this day-long event.

To receive e-mail updates about Expanding Horizons Workshops, you may sign-up through OPIC’s mailing list.

For questions or more information, please contact:

Dr. Lawrence Spinelli
Director of Outreach and Public Affairs
Office of External Affairs
Lawrence.Spinelli@opic.gov
(202) 336-8690

Ms. Alison Germak
Director of Corporate Development
Small & Medium Finance Enterprise
Alison.Germak@opic.gov
(202) 336-8651

Filed Under: GTPAC News Tagged With: Commerce Dept., exporting, MBDA, OPIC, outreach, overseas contracts, SBA, small business

Georgia Tech’s MBDA Business Center hosts minority manufacturers’ summit on Mar. 24th

February 15, 2016 By Nancy Cleveland

National MBE Manufacturers SummitThe National MBE Manufacturers Summit will be held on March 24, 2016 at the Georgia Tech Global Learning Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

This is a national manufacturing industry-specific event, exclusively for minority business enterprise (MBE) manufacturers, supply chain decision makers, and stakeholders with a focus on innovation, technology, and business-to-business matchmaking.

Attendees will have an opportunity to connect with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs), other manufacturers, and the national Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center Network.

Guest speakers include:  Alejandra Y. Castillo, National Director of the U.S. Department of Commerce, MBDA; Dr. G.P. Peterson, President of the Georgia Institute of Technology; and others for a one-of-a-kind summit that will offer:

  • Access to Technology Transfer Opportunities
  • Knowledge of the Latest Trends and Innovation in Manufacturing
  • Connections with Large Manufacturing Enterprises
  • Contact with Supply Chain Networks
  • Development of Short and Long-term Partnerships

For more information and to register, please visit: http://www.mbemanufacturersummit.org.

Filed Under: Georgia Tech News Tagged With: Commerce Dept., Georgia Tech, manufacturing, MBDA, MBE, networking, opportunities

‘Secretary of Business’ post proposed, ridiculed

November 1, 2012 By ei2admin

President Barack Obama wants to consolidate several federal agencies responsible for items regarding business, he said in a Monday (10/29/2012) interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program.

“We should have one secretary of business, instead of nine different departments that are dealing with things like getting loans to SBA (Small Business Administration) or helping companies with exports,” Obama said. “There should be a one-stop shop.”

Obama originally proposed a merger of several business-related in agencies in January by seeking reorganizational authority from Congress.

That plan included placing under one roof the Commerce Department‘s core business and trade functions, the SBA, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, the Export-Import Bank, the Overseas Private Investment Corporation and the Trade and Development Agency.

According to Kent Hoover’s report for the Business Journal, the SBA currently has separate committees in both chambers of Congress, while the chambers also have separate commerce committees.

Also see  Romney ridicules ‘secretary of business’ proposed by Obama: http://www.govexec.com/management/2012/11/romney-ridicules-secretary-business-proposed-obama/59215/?oref=govexec_today_nl

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: Commerce Dept., MBDA, SBA, small business

SBA’s loan system troubles could complicate reorganization

February 15, 2012 By ei2admin

The Small Business Administration is behind schedule on five of six planned improvements to its Loan Management and Accounting Systems and costs for the overall project have risen about 20 percent since 2010 to $28 million, a recent Government Accountability Office report said.

That’s a common story with federal information technology acquisitions, which often run behind schedule and over budget. President Obama’s planned consolidation of SBA with several other business and trade agencies inside the Commerce Department could throw another cog in the wheels.

Major government reorganizations have a mixed track record of success, but one common feature, experts told Nextgov, is while the reorganization is in process, uncertainty rises.

“Often the [reorganization] process takes a lengthy period of time and during that period it’s difficult to deal with real issues and challenges in the agencies,” said Alan Balutis, a former chief information officer at the Commerce Department and now a director at Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group.

“It’s almost like you bifurcate staff and resources,” Balutis said. “One group works on the reorganization and integration and another group goes along doing their daily business and waiting for the day when someone pulls the switch and everything changes.”

During that transition period problems that already exist with a project or system can “linger and fester,” he said, because employees managing the project are unsure where the system will fit in the new organizational structure. Often those staffers also are unsure where they’ll fit in the new structure and, as a result, hesitant to make major decisions, he said.

“They’re working under uncertainty about ‘Where am I going to end up? Who am I going to be working for? How is this going to affect my grade and responsibilities?’ ” Balutis said. “And all of that is a distraction when you’re trying to carry on your regular duties.”

That’s not to say all acquisitions and projects will fare equally poorly during a bureaucratic transition.

“If you have [information technology] systems that are more enterprisewide, that support an agency function like, say, supply chain management or finance, those are likely to be more affected by reorganization,” said Raj Sharma, president of the Federal Acquisition Innovation and Reform Institute and author of a report on IT acquisition reform.

“If you’re looking at a mission-specific system, something that supports a critical program but we know it won’t be affected by reorganization, then there’s a higher degree of certainty,” Sharma said.

Programs also are less likely to fall into reorganizational paralysis if they’re being closely monitored by government leaders or the public, Sharma said.

That may bode well for SBA as Obama and Republican House leaders have spoken at length about the importance of small businesses to an economic recovery.

GAO’s review of SBA’s loan system was performed from February 2011 through January 2012, almost entirely before Obama announced his reorganization plan, Jan. 13. That plan will require congressional approval to be enacted, which may be tough to come by. It also involved elevating SBA to a Cabinet-level agency while the transition is in process.

A GAO spokesman declined to comment Thursday on how the proposed reorganization would affect problems with SBA’s Loan Management System saying it was beyond the scope of what the agency had looked at.

In its report, GAO criticized SBA officials for failing to validate that certain technical requirements had been met and for not identifying potential risks or taking steps to mitigate them. The agency also didn’t identify skills gaps on the project teams and didn’t get firm baselines from all contractors for how long the projects would take, GAO said.

“These weaknesses in basic management practices make it less likely that SBA will be able to complete the projects within the time, budget and scope parameters originally planned,” GAO said.

While Balutis is skeptical that major problems will be solved during the proposed SBA-Commerce reorganization, he supports the reorganization itself, which he said has been discussed for years in different forms. If done right, he said, the reorganization could save money and create useful cooperation between SBA and some units of Commerce that do similar work, such as the Minority Business Development Agency.

Balutis is cautiously optimistic that the reorganization can win congressional approval.

“There certainly hasn’t been much the White House and the Republican-controlled House has been able to agree upon over this last year and a half and probably the range of issues on which they agree is only going to narrow as we roll up to the election in November,” he said. “On the other hand, this does seem to strike the right chord. One thing a number of people agree on today is that we ought to rationalize the government. We ought to make it smaller and tighter to achieve savings. And that was a major premise of the White House announcement.”

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: Commerce Dept., consolidation, GAO, loans, MBDA, reorganization, SBA, technology

Procurement chief defends Obama’s commitment to small business

October 27, 2011 By ei2admin

A proposed rule to curb agencies’ little used capacity to offer higher payments to needier contractors “will have no impact on the government’s ability or commitment to drive contracting opportunities for small disadvantaged businesses,” Dan Gordon, administrator of the White House Office of Federal Procurement Policy, said Friday.

In a blog post for the Office of Management and Budget, Gordon sought to reassure some in the minority business community that a proposed regulation issued in September by the Small Business Administration is a routine “housekeeping” tool designed to catch the law up with a 2008 court ruling that declared such price premiums unconstitutional.

“The proposed rule in no way changes the fundamental policies, practices or programs that agencies have been using in recent years to achieve strong SDB
participation in the federal marketplace, including the goal of awarding 5 percent of federal procurement dollars to SDBs,” Gordon wrote.

The affected agencies — the Defense Department, NASA and the U.S. Coast Guard — have not used price premiums to attract disadvantaged small contractors in years, Gordon noted. But the administration has “been working with the Minority Business Development Agency to strengthen the bond between contracting, small business and program offices at every agency,” Gordon wrote. “Since the beginning of [fiscal] 2009, agencies have awarded more than $85 billion in contracts to SDBs, exceeding the goal of awarding at least 5 percent of contract dollars to SDBs.” In fiscal 2010, he added, contract awards to small disadvantaged businesses accounted for 7.95 percent of all eligible contract dollars, “well above the goal.”

Gordon’s clarification came as the Obama administration readied a new set of executive actions designed to spur job creation in large and small businesses
while Congress debates the president’s larger proposed jobs package.

The perception among some that ending premium payments to disadvantaged businesses was a pullback in the administration’s commitment was rejected by Molly Brogan, vice president of public affairs for the National Small Business Association. “At the end of the day, small businesses just want a level playing field,” she told Government Executive. “Ensuring that small businesses — including SDB businesses — have a fair opportunity to compete for federal
dollars ought to be the No. 1 goal. We don’t believe this new rule will change [that] in any way.”

Raul Espinosa, founder of a Jacksonville, Fla. – based university nonprofit called the Fairness in Procurement Alliance, which has been pressing for stronger rules on accelerating payments to small disadvantaged businesses, said he was grateful for the administration’s overall effort, but worries it might be “lip service.” Changes “will mean nothing unless they’re codified into the federal acquisition regulation and referred to in actual contracts,” he
said.

—  by Charles S. Clark – Government Executive – October 24, 2011 – http://www.govexec.com/story_page.cfm?articleid=49130&dcn=e_tma

Filed Under: Contracting News Tagged With: Coast Guard, DoD, MBDA, NASA, OFPP, OMB, premium payments, SBA, small business, small disadvantaged business

Georgia Tech wins cooperative agreement to operate MBDA Business Center

May 6, 2011 By ei2admin

We are pleased to announce that the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute has been awarded the U.S. Department of Commerce’s cooperative agreement to operate the MBDA Business Center, representing the third consecutive funding cycle for this program.

Georgia Tech has been operating the Minority Business Development Agency’s (MBDA) Minority Business Enterprise Center (MBEC) since 2004 when it competed and won the first cooperative agreement.  Since its establishment, the Center has helped minority businesses in Georgia create more than 3,200 jobs and generate over $400 million in finance, contracts and sales.

Under this new award, the Center’s name has been changed to the MBDA Business Center (MBC).  The MBC’s location and contact information remain the same.  However, please note the change in the website address below:

MBDA Business Center (MBC)
75 5th Street, NW, Suite 300
Atlanta, GA 30308
Telephone:   404-894-2096
Fax:  404.894-9184
Website: www.georgiambc.org

Filed Under: Georgia Tech News Tagged With: Commerce Dept., MBDA, minority owned business

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