When people talk to me about economic development, it’s usually in hopes of big businesses bringing in new jobs, but in reality city’s are growing through their smaller, locally owned businesses. I know there’s a number of them in the Ward 8, or owned by folks here, and I’d love to see them working with the city on local projects. That’s exactly what the Local and Small Business Enterprise (SBE) program is looking to do, create more opportunities for small and local businesses to compete for city contracts.
Through the SBE program, Akron is taking a much more intentional approach to contracting and procurement, creating opportunities for small businesses by making city opportunities easier to find and understand. We also want to connect local businesses with the people and departments responsible for purchasing goods and services within the City. Our goal is to make it easier for qualified small businesses to compete and win City work while keeping more public dollars circulating in our local economy.
Now let’s define things first, a SBE is a for-profit business that is:
1. independently owned and operated
2. based primarily in Summit, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Portage, Stark or Wayne Counties.
3. not dominant and it’s field nationally
4. meets applicable, federal, small business administration size standards for its industry.
Akron’s SBE program is race & gender neutral, so all qualified small business can participate. If you’re interested in doing with you can start by registering as a vendor or supplier through the cities, compliance monitoring system. Click on the link below to learn more and register as a vendor or supplier in three easy steps
https://www.akronohio.gov/business/local_and_small_business_enterprise_participation.php