NYC awarded less than 4% of contracts to minority- and women-owned business Last year was a slow year for MWBEs, and Mayor Eric Adams says he wants to grow the program.

When Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the state had reached its 30% goal for minority- and women-owned business enterprises last year, Albany had a lot to be pleased about. But that news also came as a reminder that New York City has a lot of catching up to do. In fiscal year 2021, New York City awarded only 3.8% of city contract money to MWBE firms, and 84% of the city’s MWBEs “do not have access to city spending,” according to the city comptroller’s office. Although New York City’s certified MWBE firms have tripled since 2015 – from 4,000 to 11,000 – only about 2,000 firms have received contracts from the city.

NYC is and has been perpetually behind in promises to its diverse community of MWBE’s and 2021 was no exception. Thanks to City & State for calling this out. VeraCloud works closely with companies to implement the Program both in advance of upcoming contracting needs, and in real-time during bid solicitation windows. We seek to ensure that every diverse and/or local vendor capable of participating is identified, recruited and engaged, directly connecting interested vendors to the contracting process.

A Model for Accelerating Growth of Minority-Owned Businesses in New York City

Minority owned business strengthen our economy. From the Gotham Gazette comes news of NYC leveraging success seen elsewhere to benefit diverse communities in New York.

“Under the model, the city would coordinate a broad range of players in the business-growth ecosystem: the five borough-based chambers of commerce, community development financial institutions (CDFIs), the city government’s Department of Small Business Services, public libraries, and others. CUF wants Mayor Adams to leverage his ties with business leaders to establish a similar network of major companies to participate in the small business supply chain.”

— Gotham Gazette