Women Owned Businesses to Receive Gov. Contracts

Government agencies and their prime corporate contractors are federally mandated to meet a 5 percent spending goal with women-owned small businesses. In Fiscal Year 2010, the federal government awarded $17.46 billion to women-owned small businesses but still missed the 5 percent goal. Thanks to changes in federal policy, women business owners now have a greater chance to win government contracts.

The Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) Program, which went into effect on February 4, is intended to help the government meet its statutory goal and potentially benefit 684,000 WOSBs. The program allows contracting officers to set-aside contracts where only WOSBs can compete.  

In an effort to help Minneapolis-area WOSB’s get their share of government contracts, Women’s Business Development Center and the Give Me 5 program are hosting an event at the Target Corporation, Financial Services auditorium on Thursday, August 24. 

The Give Me 5 program, created in 2008 by American Express OPEN and Women Impacting Public Policy to instruct WOSB’s on how to access and win federal procurement opportunities, has educated more than 400,000 WOSB’s and helped more than 28,000 register on the Central Contractor Registration, the primary vendor database for the federal government.

 At this three-hour event, “Government Contracting: What WBEs Need to Know to be Successful,” women entrepreneurs will hear from noted government contracting expert and Give Me 5 instructor, Gloria Larkin, about the benefits of the SBA Women-Owned Small Business (WOSB) contracting program and learn how to: Leverage the WOSB program to improve, elevate and enhance their company’s perceived benefits to contracting officers and corporate buyers. Locate viable direct and indirect contract opportunities. And Maximize their competitive position and business by effectively connecting and getting to the decision maker, and successfully building the relationship.