Cohen to Host Annual Procurement Fair to Help Memphis Minority-owned Businesses Expand and Create Jobs
[WASHINGTON, DC] – Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today announced that his annual Federal Procurement Fair will be held on Monday, June 30th at the FedEx Institute of Technology at The University of Memphis. Since 2010, Congressman Cohen has hosted his Federal Procurement Fair annually in an effort to ensure that Memphis-area minority-owned businesses, small businesses, and entrepreneurs are well-informed and poised to compete with others across the nation when trying to win contracts with the federal government. The Congressman’s Federal Procurement Fair is another of his efforts to boost the Memphis economy and help minority-owned small businesses grow, which have also included working for years to secure funding for the Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA) Business Center in Memphis.
“Memphis is home to many well-qualified, high-potential minority entrepreneurs and small-business owners who do great work,” said Congressman Cohen. “They are the heart of the Memphis economy and play a critical role in our nation’s economic recovery. I am pleased to announce this year’s Federal Procurement Fair, which will help give our small businesses the expertise they need to navigate the federal contracting process and an opportunity to gain a competitive edge as they work to grow their businesses and create good-paying jobs right here in Memphis.”
At last year’s Federal Procurement Fair, Congressman Cohen brought to Memphis representatives from the General Services Administration (GSA), Small Business Administration (SBA), Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Department of Energy, Army Corps of Engineers and Tennessee Procurement Technical Assistance. The representatives on hand at last year’s fair helped provide guidance and assistance regarding the federal government’s contracting process to more than 150 small businesspeople and entrepreneurs in attendance.
In 2012, Congressman Cohen’s hard work and persistence led to a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) to start the MBDA Business Center in Memphis. The MBDA, part of the DOC, is the only federal agency created specifically to foster the establishment and growth of minority-owned businesses in America. In April, Congressman Cohen also announced that the MBDA Business Center in Memphis had won an additional $250,000 of federal funding. More information about that funding can be found here.