NYC DEPARTMENT OF SMALL BUSINESS SERVICES ANNOUNCES MENTORSHIP PROGRAM AND WORKSHOPS TO HELP M/WBEs GROW, COMPETE FOR GOVERNMENT CONTRACTS
Mentorship Program Provides Opportunity for M/WBEs to Learn from Experienced Private Sector Entrepreneurs
Workshop Series Focuses On Helping M/WBEs Connect With Opportunities To Do Business With City of New York
The New York City Department of Small Business Services (SBS) today announced the opening of applications for a mentorship program geared towards minority and women business entrepreneurs (M/WBE). The Corporate Alliance Program (CAP)/Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) program, offered free of charge, connects M/WBEs with successful entrepreneurs through supportive mentorship groups. Program mentors are entrepreneurs generating at least $1 million in annual revenues and mentees will work with mentors and other mentees to develop and achieve business goals. Mentees will have access to a series of seminars on a variety of business topics, including corporate procurement. Participants will come away with a network of business experts and entrepreneurs whose support they can enlist even after the program has ended. The City has also announced a schedule of workshops available to help M/WBEs contract with the City of New York. Workshops cover Selling to Government and M/WBE certification, among other topics.
“Mayor de Blasio has made an historic commitment to minority and women owned businesses and this mentorship program builds upon that success,” said Gregg Bishop, Commissioner of the NYC Department of Small Business Services. “Minority and women owned businesses face unique challenges and this program will connect budding entrepreneurs with the tools and expertise they need to build and sustain a successful small business.”
Applications for the CAP/NYCEO mentorship program are now open and will close on January 27, 2017. For more information or to apply, please visit www.nyc.gov/
CAP/NYCEO M/WBE Mentorship Program
The 28-week CAP/NYCEO M/WBE Mentorship Program provides opportunity for M/WBEs to learn from successful businesses in the private sector. M/WBEs are assigned to a mentorship group with up to three other selected firms that is overseen by a mentor. All mentors are part of Entrepreneurs’ Organization’s New York Chapter. At the beginning of the program, mentees will provide a list of goals based on their business’ challenges. Mentees will work with their mentor and mentorship group in order to achieve these goals over the course of the program. Participants will also attend learning seminars on relevant business topics presented by executives from the CAP corporate partner organizations. Mentees are required to attend at least two of the seminars and the one mandatory learning session on corporate procurement.
Mentees are accepted through a competitive application process. This program is being offered to M/WBEs that fall under the following criteria: Professional Services firms such as advertising/marketing, accounting and legal; Standard Services firms such as janitorial/building maintenance, catering and security services; and Goods firms such as IT equipment/parts, office supplies, and energy-saving light bulbs. To be eligible for the program, M/WBEs must have been in operation for at least three years, have a record of continual growth for the past two years, have at least two employees (including owner), have an annual revenue between $150, 000 and $800,000 and have a business plan, company profile, growth plan or capabilities statement.
2017 M/WBE Workshop Calendar
The Department of Small Business Services has announced the following schedule for workshops available to M/WBEs for the first quarter of 2017. Individuals may register for these courses by emailing MWBE@sbs.nyc.gov. More information on the following workshops is available online at: www.nyc.gov/sbs
M/WBE Certification One-on-One Assistance:
January 17th, January 24th, February 21st, February 28th, March 21st, and March 28thfrom 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.
M/WBE Certification:
February 7th from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM and March 7th from 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
Selling to Government:
January 10th, February 14th, and March 14th from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.
Locally-based Enterprise Certification:
January 19th from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.
Emerging Business Enterprise Certification:
March 16th from 11 AM to 1:00 PM.
Partnerships
For the CAP/NYCEO M/WBE Mentorship Program, SBS partnered with the Entrepreneurs' Organization’ NY chapter (EO) and the Corporate Alliance Program (CAP). CAP is an alliance between the NYC Dept of Small Business Services and corporate partners Accenture, American Express, BNY Mellon, Capital One, Citi, Colgate-Palmolive, Columbia University, Con Edison, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Interpublic Group, National Grid, NYU, and Skanska. Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO) is an international membership-based networking organization whose members are successful entrepreneurs generating at least $1 million in annual revenues.
About NYC Department of Small Business Services (SBS)
SBS helps unlock economic potential and create economic security for all New Yorkers by connecting New Yorkers to good jobs, creating stronger businesses and building thriving neighborhoods across the five boroughs. For more information, visit our website.
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