Georgia Tech Procurement Assistance Center

Georgia Tech wins cooperative agreement to operate MBDA Business Center

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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

New SBA rules affect small businesses in significant ways

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Newly-published rules by the Small Business Administration (SBA) address the justification and approval process associated with large sole-source contract awards to 8(a) firms; address parity among 8(a), HUBZone, and SDVOSB firms; set a minimum for the amount of work an 8(a) firm must do when joint venturing with a large business; and propose increases in the small business size standards for some industries.  Public comment is being solicited on the last item.

Specifically, the rules:

  1. Require federal agencies to issue a Justification and Approval prior to the award of 8(a) sole source contracts over $20 million;
  2. Clarify a contracting officer’s ability to use discretion when determining whether an acquisition will be restricted to small businesses participating in the 8(a), HUBZone or service-disabled veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) programs;
  3. Quantify the amount of work that an 8(a) firm must perform when joint-venturing with a large business; and
  4. Propose increases in the small business size standards for dozens of service industries in NAICS codes 54 and 81.  (The last major size standard changes took place 25 years ago.)

The first two rules were issued as interim rules by the SBA and the Federal Acquisition (FAR) Council, and are effective immediately.  The third item is a proposed rule.  All were published on March 16, 2011 in the Federal Register.

Here are the details on the rules.

Justification and Approval for 8(a) Sole-Source Awards Above $20M

The FAR Council issued an interim rule implementing Section 811 of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2010 (Pub. L. 111-84), which requires federal agencies to issue a Justification and Approval (J&A) prior to awarding a sole-source contract over $20 million under the 8(a) program.  The J&A must be approved by an appropriate official (as currently defined by FAR 6.304) and made public after award of the contract.  Prior to the enactment of section 811, a sole-source award of a new contract made using the 8(a) contracting authority did not require a J&A, regardless of the dollar value.  Under the interim rule, the J&A must document the reasons for making a sole-source award rather than a competitive award under the 8(a) program.  The rule institutes no new requirements for sole-source 8(a) awards less than or equal to $20 million.  Here is the full text of the rule: Justification and Approval of Sole-Source 8a Contracts 03.16.2011.

Parity Among 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB Programs

The FAR Council issued an interim rule implementing Section 1347 of the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010 (Pub. L. 111-240) and clarifying that there is parity when a contracting officer selects among small businesses participating in the 8(a), HUBZone and SDVOSB programs.  Under the interim rule, contracting officers will have the discretion to determine whether an acquisition will be restricted to one of these three programs.  The full text of the rule is available here: Socioeconomic Program Parity 03.16.2011.

This interim rule also clarifies that:

  • Although there is no order of precedence among the three programs, if a requirement has been accepted by SBA under the 8(a) program, it must remain in the 8(a) program unless SBA agrees to release it;
  • For acquisitions exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (that is, contracts more than $150,000), contracting officers must consider a set-aside or sole source award to a small business under the 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs before proceeding with a small business set-aside; and
  • The small business set-aside requirement under FAR 19.502-2(a) does not preclude award of a contract to a participant in the 8(a), HUBZone, or SDVOSB programs.  SBA regulations give contracting officers the authority to use these programs at dollar levels above the micro-purchase threshold and at or below the simplified acquisition threshold.

It is important to note that the interim rule does not address SBA’s new Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) program.  The WOSB program will be addressed as a separate interim rule under FAR Case 2010-015 and implement the SBA’s WOSB Federal Contract Program final rule (75 FR 62258, October 7, 2010).  The SBA rule provides for parity between WOSBs and other small business contracting programs.

Minimum Amount of Work 8(a) Firms Must Perform in Joint Ventures

To get access to set-aside contracts, large companies can joint venture with 8(a) companies.  But SBA rules now say that the 8(a) firm must perform at least 40 percent of the work of each joint venture contract.  Previously, the SBA required that the 8(a) company in a  joint venture perform a “significant portion” of a contract’s work.

Service Industries – Small Business Size Standards

The SBA issued a proposed rule increasing the small business size standards for 35 industries and one sub-industry in North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code 54, Professional, Scientific and Technical Services, and one industry in NAICS Code 81, Other Services.  Many of the size standards would increase significantly under the proposed rule.  For example, several of the NAICS code 54 size standards will increase from $4.5 million – $7 million, to $14 million – $19 million.  It is estimated that SBA’s proposed size changes would let up to 9,450 additional firms be eligible for small-business contract preferences.  The full text of the proposed rule is available here: Small Business Size Standards – Proposed – 03.16.2011.

The SBA is accepting public comments on the proposed changes to the small business size standards through May 16, 2011.

Want to meet government buyers? Albany, GA is the place to be on Feb. 22nd!

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Ever heard of “speed dating” where couples are matched for short periods of time to see if the chemistry is right?

Well, through a unique event on February 22, the same principle is being applied – EXCEPT it involves matches between local businesses, government agencies, and prime contractors.

If you want the opportunity to meet with buyers from local, state and federal agencies, you can’t afford to miss this event!

On Tuesday, February 22nd, the Albany (GA) Civic Center is the place to put your best marketing techniques to work.  You’ll get a chance to meet with — and present your capabilities to — decision-makers and buyers from representatives of local, state, and federal government agencies, including the State of Georgia, the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Dept. of Corrections, the City of Albany, the Southwest Georgia Regional Airport, the Marine Corps Command, the IRS, the General Services Administration, and the federal departments of Commerce, Interior, and Juvenile Justice – among others scheduled to be in attendance.

Along with 15-minute one-on-one meetings with buyers and contracting officials, attendees will have a chance to attend briefings on each of these topics:

  • Business Communications, Elevator Pitches and Capability Statements
  • Reading and Responding to Bid Solicitations
  • The Do’s and Don’ts of Government Contracting
  • Government Market Research
  • SBA’s New Women Owned Small Business (WOSB) Certification Program

The featured luncheon speaker for this very special day is Ms. Pat Hanes, Regional Director of the Atlanta National Enterprise Center with the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Coffee and informal networking begins at 8:00 am.  The day’s program begins at 9:00 am and runs until 3:00 pm.

This event is completely free, so register now!  Simply click here to register and then hit the “Sign Up” button.

Minority engineering firm grows business with assistance from GMBEC

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In 1998, the outcome of a legal case changed the course of Barry Bennett’s life. Bennett, who was working for a geotechnical and environmental engineering firm in Atlanta at the time, had provided expert testimony for a family-owned company that was suing a large manufacturer for non-payment.

“After several months, the small company finally prevailed and we celebrated that evening in Buckhead. The owner of the company said I did a great job and asked why I didn’t do this for myself,” recalled Bennett, now president of Metals & Materials Engineers, LLC (MME). “I told him I had a one-income family with four small children, and I couldn’t afford to start a business and put all of these people at risk. He looked at me and said, ‘Barry, all of the reasons you just gave me for not starting a business are the reasons you should.’ I went home that night and couldn’t sleep.”

It was at that pivotal moment that the idea started for MME, an Atlanta-based, minority-owned engineering firm that has been providing technical experience in metallurgy, civil engineering, engineering sciences and utility services since 2001. Today the company has two major divisions – materials engineering/metallurgy studies and civil engineering/infrastructure analysis – and employs 70 people across three locations. MME’s customers run the gamut from law firms to municipalities to large manufacturers.

“Over the past five years, the emphasis has been on the infrastructure side because that’s where the growth was. Approximately 75 percent of our company is focused on the civil and infrastructure arena,” Bennett noted. “Part of my business plan and long-term goal is to create a 50-50 split between the two operations. Currently, the growth is on the metallurgy side because municipalities are struggling with lost revenues and a decreased tax base.”

Because of the company’s relatively young age and shift in focus, Bennett was intent on taking advantage of any and all opportunities available to his SBA 8(a) certified company, a designation that means the company meets the requirements of being a small business, is unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged people who are U.S. citizens, and demonstrates potential for success. Most importantly, having 8(a) certification means a business can bid on government projects not available to uncertified companies.

“About two years ago, we had an opportunity to enter into a mentor-protégé relationship with Atlanta Gas Light, and through that relationship, the Georgia Minority Business Enterprise Center was brought in to provide some guidance and counseling to the minority businesses that participated in that program,” said Bennett. “I had some one-on-one conversations with Donna Ennis, the project director, and Maria Mar Hill, a business advisor, and I realized they provided additional services.”

The Georgia Minority Business Enterprise Center (GMBEC) is operated by the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, providing business and technical assistance that helps emerging and existing minority business enterprises (MBEs) experience significant growth and sustainability, and have long-term economic impact through the creation of jobs and revenue. Part of a national network of centers established to increase the number of MBEs and strengthen existing ones, GMBEC provides services in business assessment, access to capital and finance management, access to markets, strategic business consulting and business process improvement. Bennett says that his interactions with GMBEC have proven to be invaluable to his business.

“I’m an engineer by training. Prior to that I had limited management training, so I knew that was one of the areas I could use some help in, certainly on the accounting side. They started talking to me, showing me how I could improve on this shortcoming,” he said. “We entered into a contractual agreement for them to just give me guidance on some of my procurement or banking issues, how to improve on our certification packages – just a full array of executive business counseling that I never had before.”

Working with Hill, Bennett began to examine MME’s banking issues and re-structured some of the company’s loans for a monthly savings of $30,000. She also encouraged him to purchase the company’s 10,500-square-foot headquarters building in Suwanee – which he had been renting since 2001 – resulting in a more lucrative credit line and a savings of $4,000 a month.

“There’s not a single major transaction that I undertake without Maria’s counseling, guidance and support,” Bennett said. “I really believe that if I hadn’t had this service from Georgia Tech, it would have been very difficult to survive under these terrible economic circumstances.”

Hill also assisted Bennett with his application to the Governor’s Mentor Protégé Connection program, a unique opportunity for a select group of Georgia’s emerging businesses to improve business practices, develop relationships and promote business growth. The program partners a small business with a leading Georgia-based corporation to focus on areas such as new markets and global expansion; professional development, business training and networking; business operations improvements; and cutting-edge business practices and mentoring. In February, MME was partnered with Southern Company for the year-long program.

“Barry and his staff are extremely talented professionals,” said Melissa Evans, Georgia Power’s staff supplier diversity consultant. “It is always exciting and rewarding for us at Georgia Power to identify a top performing minority-owned business.”

Currently, Bennett is in the process of putting together a master service agreement with Southern Company to provide non-destructive testing and metallurgical services throughout all Southern Company plants. MME will begin with the Georgia and Alabama plants, and then take advantage of other opportunities in Florida and Mississippi as the project progresses, giving them tremendous opportunities to grow. Hill, described by Bennett as someone he “trusts exclusively,” agrees that MME is well-poised for growth and long-term success.

“MME is the type of company that allows the GMBEC to fulfill its mission of successfully growing businesses and creating employment in the state of Georgia. The company has been very successful leveraging internal and external resources and relationships resulting in significant growth,” she said. “MME has the capacity, capability and dedicated staff to continue to achieve great business success.”

GMBEC celebrated its sixth year at Georgia Tech in 2009, and over that time it helped clients secure more than $232 million in procurement contracts, financing, and sales; assisted minority companies with creating more than 3,000 jobs; and provided one-on-one technical assistance to some 450 firms and advice, guidance, and resources to thousands of others. The program received the 2010 Special Recognition Award from the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2006 Institution Award from the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance and has been recognized by its federal sponsor as an outstanding performance center since 2005.

GMBEC works with existing high-impact firms in manufacturing, construction, warehousing, transportation, technology and professional services. Assistance ranges from identification of funding sources to process and infrastructure improvement to securing new business. To qualify for GMBEC assistance, companies must have 51 percent minority ownership and minimum annual revenues of $500,000.

About Enterprise Innovation Institute:

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.

Research News & Publications Office

Enterprise Innovation Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology

75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314

Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Writer: Nancy Fullbright – 9/16/2010

Obama administration begins publishing names of federal subcontractors on Web

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The U.S. government is giving the public new details about how it is spending taxpayer money on government business.

Starting Wednesday, the Obama administration began publicizing the names of subcontractors – the companies that get the majority of federal contracts – along with the dollar amounts they receive.

For years, the government reported only the companies that won major, or prime, government contracts – even if those companies then hired subcontractors to do most of the job. Now taxpayers can follow more accurately where their dollars are going, tracing public money to the specific companies and communities that share in multimillion- and billion-dollar federal work.

The previous dearth of information about government subcontracts led to incomplete and sometimes misleading conclusions about Uncle Sam’s impact on communities.

For example, an agency may have boasted of awarding a $100 million prime contract for debris removal after Hurricane Katrina to a homegrown Louisiana company. But that company may have lacked the equipment to tackle the work, and then hired two hauling companies based in Virginia and Texas to do most of the job.

The new subcontractor details are available on the Office of Management and Budget’s Web site, USASpending.gov. Recipients of all federal contracts and grants larger than $25,000 will be required to report the names of companies they hire.

The subcontractors’ names are being made public as required by the Federal Funding Accountability and Transparency Act, which became law in 2006 under President George W. Bush. The informations’ release is two years behind schedule. A smaller portion of subcontractor information – for contracts larger than $20 million – was made public in October.

Both the Bush and Obama administrations faulted technical obstacles for preventing accurate reporting and Web site publication of subcontractor information. After the Obama administration spent tens of millions of dollars in 2009 to create a public Web site, FederalReporting.gov, to track money spent on stimulus projects – including subcontractor details – it cleared the way for the same information to be published on standard government contracts.

Moira Mack, an OMB spokeswoman, said resources also factored into the delay. Contracting spending dramatically increased under the Bush administration but the number of contracting employees remained stagnant, Mack said.

Because of the law, the public will now learn if a huge contract won by a fledgling minority- or female-owned company helped that firm or instead flowed to a well-heeled contracting firm founded and run by a white man. The records also would reveal whether defense work that was meant to help shore up an electronics company in recession-plagued rural Pennsylvania was instead largely being done by a powerful defense giant in Arlington County.

Craig Jennings, director of federal fiscal policy at OMB Watch, an advocate for government transparency, said the public may learn good and bad news about government spending with the new initiative.

“You really have to follow the chain [of a contract] to the end, or you just don’t know where the dollars are going,” Jennings said. “Before this, sometimes a city is listed as the primary recipient of a grant or contract. We wouldn’t know prior to this that the brother-in-law of the mayor is receiving those subcontracts.”

In an April letter setting reporting deadlines for senior federal managers, Jeffrey Zients, then the acting OMB director, stressed the importance of the transparency effort. “Full and easy access to information on government spending promotes accountability by allowing . . . both the public and public officials to gauge the effectiveness of expenditures,” he wrote. “Transparency also gives the public confidence that we are properly managing its funds.”

One day after being sworn into office, President Obama pledged that his administration would be the most open in history – a vow made in the wake of steady complaints that the Bush administration was too secretive. Although the current administration has made significant progress in releasing public information, it has faced its share of criticism that – like the previous White House – it has been loath to release public information that may cast its team in an unflattering light or hamper its agenda.

Jennings said taxpayers could end up feeling more comfortable about government contracts when they know the nitty-gritty details. Instead of reading on a government Web site about a vague $14 million transportation grant given to a state government, taxpayers now can see how the state split those funds among 20 different road and bridge projects in different locations, and which subcontractors did the jobs.

“All we hear about is stupid, wasteful government spending,” he said. “But this will likely show us how the money is actually coming to your city, even your neighborhood.”

— by Carol D. Leonnig, Washington Post Staff Writer, Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Albany’s recent small business program kick-off successful; more events planned

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The City of Albany unveiled its new small business program in a public orientation program on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010.  Over 50 businesses were represented at the event, along with numerous representatives of community organizations and government buying units.

You can view Fox 31′s report of the event by clicking right here.

The kick-off event came as a result of the recent adoption of a small business program by the City Commissioners of Albany.  The program is designed  to increase the number of City contract awards, and other procurements, to local small businesses, and thereby build business capacity, create jobs, and strengthen the local economy.

To be eligible to participate in the City’s program, a business must be located in the city limits of Albany or in Dougherty County.

Businesses located outside the Albany area can realize benefits from the program by utilizing Albany-area businesses as partners, subcontractors and suppliers.

There are many benefits that Albany-area businesses will realize by participating in the new Small Business Procurement Program, including:

• Customized training on how to do business with the City of Albany, including instruction on how to prepare bids and proposals.
• Instruction and counseling on all aspects of government contracting, including how to effectively market your business in the government arena.
• Detailed information about upcoming contract opportunities with the City, other local governments in the area, the State of Georgia, and federal agencies – as often as daily.
• An on-line vendor directory for use by the City, other local governments, prime contractors and local small businesses to identify business sources and develop relationships.
• Exclusive access to bid on City contracts valued at less than $50,000, through the City’s sheltered market program.
• A purchasing preference on City contracts involving requests for proposals and other solicitations involving proposal evaluation factors.
• Invitations to attend matchmaking and networking events, exclusively designed to help Albany-area businesses build business relationships and partnerships.

To participate, a company first must be certified as an Albany Small Business Enterprise (ASBE).  Help is available to assist Albany businesses with this application process. There will be a one-time $25 fee to cover the City’s cost of program administration.

The City of Albany recently partnered with Georgia Tech to provide management and administrative support to the Small Business Procurement Program. Experienced government contracting experts from Georgia Tech will providing the training, instruction, and counseling to the Albany-area small businesses participating in the program.

If you missed the Oct. 18th kick-off event, it’s not too late to enroll in the program.  You can do so by one of two ways:

  1. You can attend the next orientation session.  They are scheduled on Nov. 17, 2011, and Jan. 5, Feb. 9, and Mar. 16, 2011.  To register to attend any of these free orientations, simply click here.
  2. You can apply to participate in the City of Albany’s Small Business Procurement Program by downloading an application form here. 

For more information or assistance, contact Clovia Hamilton at chamilton.gatech@gmail.com.

Minority engineering firm grows business with assistance from GMBEC

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In 1998, the outcome of a legal case changed the course of Barry Bennett’s life. Bennett, who was working for a geotechnical and environmental engineering firm in Atlanta at the time, had provided expert testimony for a family-owned company that was suing a large manufacturer for non-payment.

“After several months, the small company finally prevailed and we celebrated that evening in Buckhead. The owner of the company said I did a great job and asked why I didn’t do this for myself,” recalled Bennett, now president of Metals & Materials Engineers, LLC (MME). “I told him I had a one-income family with four small children, and I couldn’t afford to start a business and put all of these people at risk. He looked at me and said, ‘Barry, all of the reasons you just gave me for not starting a business are the reasons you should.’ I went home that night and couldn’t sleep.”

It was at that pivotal moment that the idea started for MME, an Atlanta-based, minority-owned engineering firm that has been providing technical experience in metallurgy, civil engineering, engineering sciences and utility services since 2001. Today the company has two major divisions – materials engineering/metallurgy studies and civil engineering/infrastructure analysis – and employs 70 people across three locations. MME’s customers run the gamut from law firms to municipalities to large manufacturers.

“Over the past five years, the emphasis has been on the infrastructure side because that’s where the growth was. Approximately 75 percent of our company is focused on the civil and infrastructure arena,” Bennett noted. “Part of my business plan and long-term goal is to create a 50-50 split between the two operations. Currently, the growth is on the metallurgy side because municipalities are struggling with lost revenues and a decreased tax base.”

Because of the company’s relatively young age and shift in focus, Bennett was intent on taking advantage of any and all opportunities available to his SBA 8(a) certified company, a designation that means the company meets the requirements of being a small business, is unconditionally owned and controlled by one or more socially and economically disadvantaged people who are U.S. citizens, and demonstrates potential for success. Most importantly, having 8(a) certification means a business can bid on government projects not available to uncertified companies.

“About two years ago, we had an opportunity to enter into a mentor-protégé relationship with Atlanta Gas Light, and through that relationship, the Georgia Minority Business Enterprise Center was brought in to provide some guidance and counseling to the minority businesses that participated in that program,” said Bennett. “I had some one-on-one conversations with Donna Ennis, the project director, and Maria Mar Hill, a business advisor, and I realized they provided additional services.”

The Georgia Minority Business Enterprise Center (GMBEC) is operated by the Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute, providing business and technical assistance that helps emerging and existing minority business enterprises (MBEs) experience significant growth and sustainability, and have long-term economic impact through the creation of jobs and revenue. Part of a national network of centers established to increase the number of MBEs and strengthen existing ones, GMBEC provides services in business assessment, access to capital and finance management, access to markets, strategic business consulting and business process improvement. Bennett says that his interactions with GMBEC have proven to be invaluable to his business.

“I’m an engineer by training. Prior to that I had limited management training, so I knew that was one of the areas I could use some help in, certainly on the accounting side. They started talking to me, showing me how I could improve on this shortcoming,” he said. “We entered into a contractual agreement for them to just give me guidance on some of my procurement or banking issues, how to improve on our certification packages – just a full array of executive business counseling that I never had before.”

Working with Hill, Bennett began to examine MME’s banking issues and re-structured some of the company’s loans for a monthly savings of $30,000. She also encouraged him to purchase the company’s 10,500-square-foot headquarters building in Suwanee – which he had been renting since 2001 – resulting in a more lucrative credit line and a savings of $4,000 a month.

“There’s not a single major transaction that I undertake without Maria’s counseling, guidance and support,” Bennett said. “I really believe that if I hadn’t had this service from Georgia Tech, it would have been very difficult to survive under these terrible economic circumstances.”

Hill also assisted Bennett with his application to the Governor’s Mentor Protégé Connection program, a unique opportunity for a select group of Georgia’s emerging businesses to improve business practices, develop relationships and promote business growth. The program partners a small business with a leading Georgia-based corporation to focus on areas such as new markets and global expansion; professional development, business training and networking; business operations improvements; and cutting-edge business practices and mentoring. In February, MME was partnered with Southern Company for the year-long program.

“Barry and his staff are extremely talented professionals,” said Melissa Evans, Georgia Power’s staff supplier diversity consultant. “It is always exciting and rewarding for us at Georgia Power to identify a top performing minority-owned business.”

Currently, Bennett is in the process of putting together a master service agreement with Southern Company to provide non-destructive testing and metallurgical services throughout all Southern Company plants. MME will begin with the Georgia and Alabama plants, and then take advantage of other opportunities in Florida and Mississippi as the project progresses, giving them tremendous opportunities to grow. Hill, described by Bennett as someone he “trusts exclusively,” agrees that MME is well-poised for growth and long-term success.

“MME is the type of company that allows the GMBEC to fulfill its mission of successfully growing businesses and creating employment in the state of Georgia. The company has been very successful leveraging internal and external resources and relationships resulting in significant growth,” she said. “MME has the capacity, capability and dedicated staff to continue to achieve great business success.”

GMBEC celebrated its sixth year at Georgia Tech in 2009, and over that time it helped clients secure more than $232 million in procurement contracts, financing, and sales; assisted minority companies with creating more than 3,000 jobs; and provided one-on-one technical assistance to some 450 firms and advice, guidance, and resources to thousands of others. The program received the 2010 Special Recognition Award from the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 2006 Institution Award from the Greater Atlanta Economic Alliance and has been recognized by its federal sponsor as an outstanding performance center since 2005.

GMBEC works with existing high-impact firms in manufacturing, construction, warehousing, transportation, technology and professional services. Assistance ranges from identification of funding sources to process and infrastructure improvement to securing new business. To qualify for GMBEC assistance, companies must have 51 percent minority ownership and minimum annual revenues of $500,000.

About Enterprise Innovation Institute:

The Georgia Tech Enterprise Innovation Institute helps companies, entrepreneurs, economic developers and communities improve their competitiveness through the application of science, technology and innovation. It is one of the most comprehensive university-based programs of business and industry assistance, technology commercialization and economic development in the nation.

Research News & Publications Office

Enterprise Innovation Institute

Georgia Institute of Technology

75 Fifth Street, N.W., Suite 314

Atlanta, Georgia 30308 USA

Media Relations Contacts: Nancy Fullbright (912-963-2509); E-mail: (nancy.fullbright@innovate.gatech.edu) or John Toon (404-894-6986); E-mail (john.toon@innovate.gatech.edu).

Writer: Nancy Fullbright

City of Albany to kick-off new small business program soon

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The City of Albany, Georgia is planning to soon unveil its new small business program. Albany-area small businesses will be sure to be interested in the new program, including how they may benefit from it.

Complete details about the City’s kick-off event will be announced soon, so watch the GTPAC website for more details.

Here is some background. Just a few months ago, the City of Albany adopted a small business program to provide procurement training and assistance to local small businesses. The purpose of the program is to increase the number of City contract awards, and other procurements, to local small businesses, and thereby build business capacity, create jobs, and strengthen the local economy.

To be eligible to participate in the City’s special program, a business must be located in the city limits Albany or in Dougherty County.

There are many benefits that Albany-area businesses will realize by participating in the new “small business procurement program,” including:

• Customized training on how to do business with the City of Albany, including instruction on how to prepare bids and proposals.
• Instruction and counseling on all aspects of government contracting, including how to effectively market your business in the government arena.
• Detailed information about upcoming contract opportunities with the City, other local governments in the area, the State of Georgia, and federal agencies – as often as daily.
• An on-line vendor directory for use by the City, other local governments, prime contractors and local small businesses to identify business sources and develop relationships.
• Exclusive access to bid on City contracts valued at less than $50,000, through the City’s sheltered market program.
• A purchasing preference on City contracts involving requests for proposals and other solicitations involving proposal evaluation factors.
• Invitations to attend matchmaking and networking events, exclusively designed to help Albany-area businesses build business relationships and partnerships.

To participate, a company first must be certified as an Albany Small Business Enterprise (ASBE). Help will soon be available to assist a business with this application process. There will be a one-time $25 fee to cover the City’s cost of program administration.

The City of Albany recently selected Georgia Tech to provide management and administrative support to the Small Business Procurement Program. Experienced government contracting experts from Georgia Tech will providing the training, instruction, and counseling to the Albany-area small businesses participating in the program.

For more information, contact Clovia Hamilton at clovia@gatech.edu.

8(a) certification assistance available

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Government contracting opportunities can become more accessible through 8(a) certification. 

The “8(a) Business Development Program” is a program of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) to ensure equal business access for socially and economically disadvantaged business people, including American citizens who are Black, Hispanic, Native American, Asian Pacific or Subcontinent Asian, and in some cases women.   

Companies which qualify for 8(a) status must go through a formal application and certification process administered by the SBA.  This process is detailed and multi-faceted.  Fortunately, the SBA and its Small Business Development Centers, offer training and assistance with the 8(a) process.

Prior to applying for 8(a) status, businesses are urged to take an on-line training and self-evaluation course, which is accessible via the following link: 8(a) Business Development Suitability Tool.

Following the on-line self-evaluation, company representratives should consider attening “8(a) BD Certification Step by Step,” a training class offered by Georgia State University’s Small Business Development Center.  The next time this class is offered is on Sept. 23, 2010 in Atlanta.  Pre-registration is required and may be accomplished at: http://web.sba.gov/calendar/public/index.cfm?rc=0405. 

To view the complete calendar of upcoming SBA events, visit http://www.sba.gov/localresources/district/ga/eventscalender/index.html.

Buying club now offering microloans up to $25K to business members

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A division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is based in Bentonville, Ark., is testing a program with Superior Financial Group, one of 13 federally licensed nonbank lenders, and will offer $5,000 to $25,000 loans to members who qualify.

Sam’s Club says 15 percent of its business members reported they were denied a loan in a November survey. That’s up from 12 percent in April 2009.

The program will focus on minority-, women- and veteran-owned businesses.

Sam’s Club members who apply for a small business loan during the pilot will receive $100 off the application fee, a 20 percent discount and a discount on interest rates.

Businesses can pay $35 for a membership to Sam’s Club that includes three annual membership cards that allow them to shop at 600 Sam’s Clubs in the U.S. Sam’s Club offers other memberships to consumers and businesses that cost as much as $100 annually depending on the features included.

Although the economy has grown for three straight quarters, tight credit remains a problem for many consumers and businesses.

“Access to capital is a major pain point for our members,” said Catherine Corley, vice president, membership at Sam’s Club.

— Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.

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