Millions of dollars in new minority contract opportunities were announced yesterday during day-one of the city’s 6th annual We Mean Business symposium.
“Ensuring that all businesses have a fair opportunity to do business with city government is a top priority for me,” said Mayor Jim Strickland.
Hosted by the City of Memphis Office of Business Diversity & Compliance (OBDC), the two-day virtual event is live streamed on Facebook and YouTube.
Day-two resumes today, June 24, at 11:30 a.m., featuring speakers and special guest Penny Hardaway, University of Memphis Tigers head basketball coach.
Expanding MWBE growth and spend
When Strickland took office in 2016, the city’s diversity spending was at 12 percent. His OBDC staff – headed by Joann Massey – has since increased that to 21 percent.
“There’s still more work to be done,” Strickland said.
City officials presented contracting opportunities across agency divisions while Massey reviewed OBDC training and support programs for Minority, Women & Business Enterprise (MWBE) owners.
Some OBDC efforts have been particularly useful to owners battling pandemic losses.
Carolyn Michael-Banks, MWBE owner of A Tour of Possibilities, said she was hard hit during COVID-19 like much of the touring industry. While some MWBEs closed shop, she stayed afloat.
Centers for Disease Control restrictions forced her to pivot from using a 10-passenger luxury touring van to launching the Memphis Caravan Tour, where clients drive their own cars to follow her (narration is heard through car speakers via Zoom).
She also created a GPS audio driving tour and a Memphis tour webinar accessible from anywhere.
“It stretched me, but did not break me,” she said of the challenges.
Besides federal loans, Michael-Banks said an OBDC Small Business Stabilization Grant was a big help. She felt relieved that the money wasn’t “hanging over her head to pay back.”
“With the grant I received, I was able to keep my business viable primarily through marketing.”
She used the funds to advertise.
“I still needed someone to get my name out there to make sure people knew that when this time would come, that I’d still be here and still be viable.”
Contracting with nation’s 23rd largest school district
Dr. Joris Ray, superintendent of Shelby County Schools, encouraged MWBEs to seek the district’s extensive procurement opportunities. SCS balances a budget of more than $2 billion, which includes pandemic relief funds.
“The success of SCS is tied to the economic vitality of greater Memphis,” said Ray.
SCS set a goal of 30 percent MWBE participation for 2022. Total SCS spend with certified MWBEs in the 2019-20 fiscal year was 14-plus percent.
The district procures goods and supplies, professional and non-professional services, and engineering and construction activities such as architectural design, fire alarm replacement, painting and lot repaving.
SCS will soon launch the Small Business Enterprise program to expand local business opportunities – an effort driven by a disparities study examining district MWBE options.
Fresh opportunities: Downtown | MATA | Airport
Jaske Goff, chief diversity officer, Downtown Memphis Commission, presented 14 downtown construction projects, ranging in cost from $200,000 to the $741 million development renamed The Walk (formerly Union Row).
Memphis Area Transit Authority announced a goal of 17 to 18 percent MWBE participation for the next three years – 2021-23 – up from 6 percent in 2020.
With capital improvement projects totaling $72 million, MATA officials said the agency will be “more intentional” with MWBE recruitment and the unbundling of large contracts.
Memphis Airport Authority seeks bids – some as early as July – from general contractors for concourse and baggage carousel improvements, runway reconfiguration and facility repairs, janitorial supplies and water treatment chemicals.
First step: MWBE Certification
Memphis has more than 600 certified MWBE vendors according to the OBDC website.
MWBE certification is required for government contracts, which can potentially grow a business, and can be obtained at no charge through the OBDC.
For more details, or to view the We Mean Business symposium, visit: https://memphisobdc.org/wmbs/.
