Tuesday, March 27, 2012

SBA Announces New Partnership to Connect Small Businesses with Corporate Supply Chains


Release  Date:  March 22, 2012
Contact:  Hayley Meadvin (202) 205-6948
Release Number: 12-12
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
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WASHINGTON – A new private-public collaboration will help small businesses strengthen their revenue streams by gaining access to more than $300 billion in combined supply chain spending by a consortium of 15 of America’s largest corporations, the U.S. Small Business Administration announced today.

Supplier Connection, created by the IBM Foundation, is part of the Obama Administration’s American Supplier Initiative and is designed to help bridge the gap between small, nimble businesses looking for new opportunities and large corporations looking for innovative new ideas and diversity in their supply chains.

“The American Supplier Initiative is part of a comprehensive solution to grow small businesses, create jobs and to ensure that America has a strong, deep and diverse supply chain,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills.  “While it is clear that becoming a corporate supplier can lead to business growth, breaking in can be a challenge for small businesses.  The Supplier Connection will be one tool to help small businesses connect with corporate buyers.  Tools like this help to ensure that more small businesses are part of commercial supply chains, which adds additional revenue streams.  This is a proven formula for job creation.”

Mills today sent letters about Supplier Connection, a new tool to help small businesses access private sector supply chains, to more than 50,000 small businesses that currently participate in small business federal procurement programs.  Studies have shown that small businesses that are part of large corporations’ supply chains experience increased revenues and employment.  SBA is committed to helping small businesses identify new tools and resources to become part of these supply chains. 

Supplier Connection is a free, online portal created by the IBM Foundation that allows small businesses to send information about their products and services to 15 large private sector companies.  The 15 companies participating in Supplier Connection are: AMD, AT&T, Bank of America, Caterpillar, Citi Group, Dell, Facebook, IBM, JP Morgan Chase, John Deere, Kellogg’s, Office Depot, Pfizer, UPS and Wells Fargo.  Together, these 15 companies have a combined purchasing power of $300 billion and now they will have full access to the profiles of small businesses that have registered for Supplier Connection. 
 

The American Supplier Initiative is a call-to-action to the private sector to invest in their supply chains through small businesses.  The initiative aims to address four key areas in which small business need help in order to become successful suppliers in the private sector: access to mentorship and counseling services, increased market and revenue opportunities, ready sources of capital to fund their growth, and a highly skilled workforce.


To date, several American Supplier Initiative announcements have already been made:

• SBA’s International Trade Loan expansion – This program provides small businesses with capital to finance their fixed assets, including real estate, and working capital needs. This program offers private lenders a 90 percent guarantee on loans up to $5 million as an incentive to encourage lending to growing small businesses. Small businesses may use the ITL program to on-shore and help bring jobs back to the U.S.


• Export-Import Bank’s Global Credit Express Product – This product is specially designed to deliver short-term working capital loans directly to creditworthy small business exporters. Through this new program, exporters may be eligible for a 6- or 12-month revolving line of credit of up to $500,000.


• CAPLines – SBA’s CAPLines program was recently revamped to help small businesses meet their short-term and cyclical working capital needs.  


Identifying ways to strengthen small and medium-sized manufacturers is a priority for the administration and additional announcements under the American Supplier Initiative are expected to be rolled out in the coming weeks and months.  

For more information on Supplier Connection, please visit: https://www.supplier-connection.net.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Professional Women’s Networking Group Calls for Pay-It-Forward Story Submissions

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

Businesses do not exist in a bubble. We depend on friends and family to support us, and communities to sustain us. Sometimes that's not enough. Sometimes it has taken an incredible gift: a referral, an inspiration, or an opportunity to find success.

Have you been on the giving or receiving end of a Pay-It-Forward situation that transformed your business or changed the way your business operated?

1. Name
2. Company Name
3. Website
4. Email
5. Phone
6. Story in less than 100 words
7. Other company to recognize
 
DEADLINE: 6:00 p.m. PST on April 6, 2012

WHERE: Email story submissions to seattle@femfessionals.com

the tiny print:: Must be a women-owned or women-operated businesses. Femfessional membership is not required in order to participate.

About Femfessionals
FemCity Seattle is the 27th national chapter of Femfessionals and hosts monthly networking lunches and events for diverse groups of professional women looking to make strategic connections to strengthen their business and social circle.

A Femfessional is a savvy business woman characterized as positive, open-minded, driven, professional, ambitious and desirous of forming strong strategic connections with similar minded professional women to benefit each other personally and professionally and to benefit their community. Not only is she motivated to succeed, she is passionate about the success of others around her. A Femfessional is giving of herself and more than willing to help when she is needed. She wants to make an impact in the world, starting with the betterment of her City, and grow as a business professional and a woman. She is quite remarkable!

For additional information or help with setting up an interview, please contact Amalia Martino at (425) 361-2754 or seattle@femfessionals.com

Thursday, March 22, 2012

SBA Hosts 14-City Matchmaker Conference to Connect Small

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Small Business Administration will host the fourth of its free Mentor-Protégé Matchmaking Conference series in Los Angeles, Calif., on March 21. The program gives small disadvantaged businesses access to guidance on federal contracting, face-to-face meetings and opportunities to team with larger businesses and graduates of the SBA’s 8(a) Business Development program.

During the forums, small businesses will learn how to market themselves to the federal government and go after government contracting opportunities. They will also get an overview of the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé program – a tool of the SBA’s 8(a) program that encourages mentors to team with a protégé or smaller firm to help them with management and technical assistance, financial assistance and access to joint ventures and federal contracting opportunities.

“Although we are encouraged by the economic indicators trending upward, we are still facing challenging economic times,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “That’s why it’s important that we make sure that more federal contracts get into the hands of small businesses that drive the nation’s economy and create jobs. These forums will go a long way in making sure that small businesses know how to leverage their companies and team with viable partners to take their businesses to the next level.”

The forums will also feature a discussion of strategic alliance and joint venture opportunities, a Q&A session and face-to-face and virtual business matchmaking sessions with larger businesses and companies that have graduated from the 8(a) program.

Small disadvantaged businesses and 8(a) firms interested in attending must register at: http://sba.mybusinessmatches.com/buyers/generalinfo. Approximately 300 small businesses will be matched prior to their meetings based on their compatibility.

The first three matchmaking conferences took place in Washington, D.C., in January and Atlanta, Ga., and Orlando, Fla., in February. The list of the remaining cities scheduled is as follows:

  • Los Angeles, Calif. (March 21)
  • Houston, Texas (March 27)
  • San Antonio, Texas (March 29)
  • Chicago, Ill. (April 5)
  • Denver, Colo. (April 11)
  • Boston, Mass. (May 10)
  • Newark, N.J. (May 23)
  • Seattle, Wash. (June 7)
  • Kansas City, Mo. (June 21)
  • Sacramento, Calif. (July 24)
  • Cleveland, Ohio (August 7)
For more information about the SBA’s Mentor-Protégé program, visit: www.sba.gov/content/mentor-protégé-program and to learn more about the Mentor-Protégé Matchmaking Conference, visit: http://sba.mybusinessmatches.com/buyers/generalinfo.

# # #
Release Date: March 20, 2012
Contact: Tiffani Clements (202) 401‑0035
Release Number: 12-11
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
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