City of Albany kicks-off new small business program on Oct. 18

The City of Albany, Georgia is planning to unveil its new small business program in a public orientation program on Monday, Oct. 18, 2010. By attending this free event, Albany-area small businesses will learn how they may benefit from Albany’s Small Business Procurement Program.

An announcement of  the City’s kick-off event can be seen here: Flyer – Albany SBPP Kick-Off page one – FINAL, and the day’s agenda can be seen here: Albany SBP Kickoff Orientation_Final Agenda.

Just a few months ago, the City Commissioners of Albany adopted the small business program to increase the number of City contract awards, and other procurements, to local small businesses, and thereby build business capacity, create jobs, and strengthen the local economy.

To be eligible to participate in the City’s program, a business must be located in the city limits of Albany or in Dougherty County.

There are many benefits that Albany-area businesses will realize by participating in the new Small Business Procurement Program, including:

• Customized training on how to do business with the City of Albany, including instruction on how to prepare bids and proposals.
• Instruction and counseling on all aspects of government contracting, including how to effectively market your business in the government arena.
• Detailed information about upcoming contract opportunities with the City, other local governments in the area, the State of Georgia, and federal agencies – as often as daily.
• An on-line vendor directory for use by the City, other local governments, prime contractors and local small businesses to identify business sources and develop relationships.
• Exclusive access to bid on City contracts valued at less than $50,000, through the City’s sheltered market program.
• A purchasing preference on City contracts involving requests for proposals and other solicitations involving proposal evaluation factors.
• Invitations to attend matchmaking and networking events, exclusively designed to help Albany-area businesses build business relationships and partnerships.

To participate, a company first must be certified as an Albany Small Business Enterprise (ASBE).  Help is available to assist Albany businesses with this application process. There will be a one-time $25 fee to cover the City’s cost of program administration.

The City of Albany recently partnered with Georgia Tech to provide management and administrative support to the Small Business Procurement Program. Experienced government contracting experts from Georgia Tech will providing the training, instruction, and counseling to the Albany-area small businesses participating in the program.

For more information, contact Clovia Hamilton at ude.hcetagnull@aivolc.