| In the spirit of helping African American businesses better compete for public funded contracts, our agency identifies several gaps that need to be addressed. One, is in the area of completing business/marketing plans and the other is obtaining the necessary certifications that can increase the chances of winning public/private contract work.
Entrepreneurs seeking to start or expand a business in the construction industry may be eligible to obtain both, free of charge, if they are a dislocated worker, low income or unemployed. Under the federal Workforce Investment Act. (WIA), those in business or aspiring entrepreneurs can enroll with our agency, IBSA, Inc. if they reside in Wyandotte, Johnson or Leavenworth County. Depending on the appropriate level of training or assistance needed, you will leave the program with a functional business plan, knowledge of resources for bidding, financing or other development, and we will provide a ‘development grant’ to pay for your Minority or Women Business Certification. Mentors with expertise in a variety of business areas are available upon completing our program to help you get introduced to people in the know and to help you compile additional paperwork needed for certification or to bid on identified contracts. Certification as a Women or Minority business does not guarantee a contract from government or private companies, but it has positioned emerging businesses to get its foot into the door. For example, Unified Gov’t of Wyandotte County, Kansas City Kansas establishes agreements with developer on public funded project that requires M/WBE participation and utilization, and through one effort over $52M dollars were awarded to Women and Minority owned businesses in the construction and development of the KS Speedway. In order to bid under these type of agreements, a recognized M/WBE Certification certificate is required. The sad fact is that there are very few African American businesses regardless of the industry that have applied for and received Women, Minority or Disadvantaged business certification. Government procurement and diversity departments use certifications on-file as a means to compile and provide statistical data on gov’t utilization of Minority, Women and Disadvantaged business concerns. In many cases, it is these figures that helps identify disparity; which can lead to public policy changes that can create a better environment for those businesses that historically do not win bids or have limited access to developmental support services. No other agency we know of in Leavenworth, Wyandotte or Johnson County provides an entrepreneurship opportunity like this and we work to collaborate with sound resources such as the KU-SBDC, Workforce Partnership, Kansas Dept. of Commerce, local government procurement and diversity officers, and company executive that have influence on awarding contracts to worthy small businesses. Both individual and group instruction is available, and it can take up to three weeks to complete the enrollment process and be deemed eligible to begin. At this time, individuals interested in starting nonprofits or certain retail establishments are not eligible for our training under WIA. For more information about enrolling in this program or other services available call (913) 240-6247. To look into other training programs and services under the Workforce Investment Act., visit your local Workforce Center in Kansas City KS, Leavenworth KS, or in Johnson County or go online to www.KansasJobLink.com [Click on 'Training Providers"] |
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