More than 200 people gathered in the main conference center at the Macon Mall for a statewide Georgia Procurement Workshop, hosted by Macon-Bibb County’s Office of Small Business Affairs (OSBA) in partnership with Georgias Department of Administrative Services and Central Georgia Coalition of Black Businesses. The event was open to all businesses and suppliers interested in working with state and local agencies.

“This was a great chance for businesses to open the door to more contracts with government agencies and allow us as a government to support more small, local, and minority firms,” says Charise Stephens-Merriwether, Director of the OSBA. “By hosting the statewide conference in Macon-Bibb, we are able to reach even more people, have a greater impact on our economy, and bring in more skills and knowledge to our projects.”

“We wanted firms to gain practical knowledge, meaningful connections, and clear next steps on how to do business with their government,” says Julian Baley with the Department of Administrative Services. “They all got a better understanding of how to pursue local and statewide procurement opportunities, strong peer to peer connections with other small businesses, and a greater awarenesses of small business resources for accessing capital and business development support.”

During the day, they learned how to navigate the state procurement process, the order of precedence in purchasing, how to become a certified business and why it matters, where to find opportunities under $25,000, how to access support and resources, and how prime contractors can benefit by working with certified small businesses. Businesses could also get registered with Macon-Bibb County through the OSBA and with Georgia’s procurement system, Team Georgia Marketplace.

Businesses and organizations present at the workshop include: Central Georgia Coalition of Black Businesses, Georgia Department of Administrative Services, Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), JP Morgan Chase, NOW, New Town Macon, Small Business Administration, GT Apex, SCORE, Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Macon, Columbus State University, University of Georgia, Georgia Department of Corrections, Georgia Department of Transportation, Macon-Bibb County Procurement, MH Miles Company, and Macon-Middle Georgia Black Pages.