The Montgomery County Office of Procurement’s recently released Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) annual reports for the Minority, Female and Disabled-Owned Business Program (MFD) and the Local Small Business Reserve Program (LSBRP) showed record funding for both groups.
In FY23, the County awarded $246,374,095 in contracts with
certified MFD businesses. The amount represented 22.6 percent of eligible
dollars and the highest dollar amount for MFD firms since the program began
more than 25 years ago.
In FY23, the County awarded $305 million in contracts with
certified LSBRP businesses. The amount represented 31.3 percent of eligible
dollars. This is the highest dollar amount spent with local small businesses
since the program began in 2009 as well as the highest percentage
spend.
“I am pleased that we have been able to increase the dollar
values of County contracts with minority, female and disabled-owned businesses,
as well as local small businesses," said County Executive Marc Elrich. “It
has been an important goal for me to expand who we do business with and to open
it up to businesses that historically may not have had access to these
contracts. I want to thank Director Ash Shetty and his team for their
continued commitment to both the minority and local business contracting
programs.”
The Office of Procurement participates in more than 30
outreach events in the region annually and co-hosts outreach events with local
organizations. In September 2023, the Office of Procurement partnered with the
Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) to host a Minority Business
Enterprise (MBE) and Women Business Enterprise (WBE) certification workshop
with Montgomery County’s African American Chamber of Commerce. In October 2023,
the Office of Procurement and the Maryland Women’s Business Center launched a
quarterly webinar series “How to Do Business with Montgomery County.” Last
year, they partnered with the Maryland Black Chamber of Commerce to co-host a
series of vendor outreach events, with another series to launch in May.
“The Office of Procurement proudly manages several programs
dedicated to improving minority and local spending in procurement,” said
Director Ash Shetty. "We continue to provide outreach to the local and
minority business community and are gearing up for a few outreach events with
local organizations.”
The Office of Procurement will host its annual Vendor
Connection Summit on Thursday, April 25, at the Silver Spring Civic Building.
This expo-style event provides opportunities for local, small and minority-owned
businesses to network with representatives of County departments and other
County contractors. Click here for more information.
The Silver Spring Civic Building is located at 1 Veterans
Place in Silver Spring.
For more information on the Office of Procurement, visit its website at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/pro.
