Baton Rouge, La. – More than 520
small business owners and exhibitors participated in the Southern University Ag
Center’s 15th Annual ‘Connecting Businesses with Contracts’
Procurement Conference on April 16 in the Felton G. Clark Activity Center on
the Southern University campus.
“The goal of the Procurement Conference is to connect small business
owners with contracts that are available through government agencies,” said
Eual Hall, Interim Director of the Center for Rural and Small Business
Development at the SU Ag Center.
“There are many times that small business owners don’t know where to go,
what to do, or to whom they need to speak to for assistance with their small
businesses,” said Jo Ann Lawrence, Louisiana Deputy District Director of the
U.S. Small Business Administration. “With this event, small business owners are
able to sit down and talk to potential customers, such as federal agencies,
state and local government agencies, municipalities and even major prime
contractors,” added Lawrence.
Several workshops featured during the conference included: How to Get
and Market the GSA Schedule/Marketing to the Federal Government; Contracting
Opportunities; Getting the Financing You Need; Expanding to Global
Markets/Doing Business Internationally; Small Business Resources; and Bridging
the Gap: “Identifying the Connection Between Research and Business. There was
also a procurement panel consisting of federal, state and local government
agencies and participants were able to network with more than 60 exhibitors.
Adell Brown, Jr., Ph.D., a professor at the Southern University College
of Business, was the keynote speaker for the luncheon session at the
conference.
“The conference gave us a platform to make valuable connections with
small businesses, community leaders and companies who are committed to doing
business with Small Business Enterprises and Disadvantaged Business
Enterprises,” said Shakita Billups, Co-Founder of DreamBoost Consulting, LLC
and one of the 60 business exhibitors participating in the conference. “Our
objective was to connect with influential people and learn about impactful
resources we can maximize to not only grow our business but help us have an
even greater impact on the businesses we serve,” added Billups.
“We want to see small businesses grow, develop, prosper and continue to
remain in business for having been in touch with us and participating in this
conference,” said Lawrence.
Co-sponsors for the Procurement Conference included the U. S. Small
Business Administration, Louisiana Small Business Development Center at
Southern University, Louisiana Economic Development (LED), and the Louisiana
Procurement Technical Assistance Center (PTAC).
For additional information, contact Eual Hall at 225.771.4105, Krystle
Washington at 225.771.3902, or e-mail jo.lawrence3@sba.gov.
Photos from the conference are available here.
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