SBA Hosts Business Matchmaking to Link Small Businesses with Federal Contract Opportunities during National Small ...

WASHINGTON, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The U.S. Small Business Administration will host a business matchmaking event allowing small businesses to discuss procurement opportunities with major corporations and federal agencies during National Small Business Week on May 22 in Washington, DC. 

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The event will give small businesses from across the country gathered for National Small Business Week an opportunity to have face-to-face meetings with prime contractors and federal agencies to learn about specific contracting and subcontracting opportunities. This is part of SBA's Procurement Day which will also feature federal contracting panels on gaining access to federal prime contracting and subcontracting opportunities.

The business matchmaking sessions are open to small businesses that register for National Small Business Week.  Small businesses must have a DUNS number, which can be obtained by going to the DUNS official Web site at (www.dnb.com/us), and must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (www.ccr.gov), the federal government's official database of small businesses wishing to secure federal contracts.  

The face-to-face matchmaking meetings will be 15 minutes, matching approximately 150 businesses and 20 buyers based on their compatibility and the buying needs of the federal agencies and corporations.  Small business owners interested in participating must first register for National Small Business Week at www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com. 

Once registered, they will receive a code to allow them to complete their business matchmaking registration at:  https://nsbw.mybusinessmatches.com.  Registration for the event will close on May 18, 2012.   One session will be held on May 22 from 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m. and the second session will be held from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. 

During the forums, small businesses will learn how to market themselves to the federal government and go after government contracting opportunities.  Once small business owners register for the workshops, they will have the option of attending any of three sessions:

Government Contracting 101: Small Business Contracting Programs (10:00-11:15 a.m.) Insights into Federal Contracting Opportunities with Federal Agency Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBUs) (10:00 a.m.-11:15 a.m. and 11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.) Improving your Business through Subcontracting Opportunities (11:30 a.m.-12:45 p.m.)

For more information about the Matchmaking event, visit: https://nsbw.mybusinessmatches.com and National Small Business Week http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com.

Small Business Week 2012 sponsors and cosponsors include: AARP, Association of Small Business Development Companies, AT&T, Dun & Bradstreet, InterContinental Hotels Group, International Franchise Association, Lockheed Martin, Microsoft, National Association of Development Companies, National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders,  National Association for the Self-Employed, National Small Business Association, Neustar, Northrop Grumman, Office Depot, Paychex, Inc., Prudential, Raytheon, Sage Software, Inc., Salesgenie, SCORE, Small Business Investor Alliance, T-Mobile, VISA, Wall Street Journal and Women Impacting Public Policy.

The U.S. Small Business Administration's participation in this cosponsored activity does not constitute an express or implied endorsement of any cosponsor's, donor's, grantee's, contractor's or participant's opinions, products, or services. All SBA programs and cosponsored programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis. Reasonable arrangements for persons with disabilities will be made, if requested at least 2 weeks in advance, by contacting sbw@sba.gov. Cosponsorship Authorization #SBW2012.

Contact: Tiffani Clements (202) 401-0035
Internet Address: http://www.sba.gov/news
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SOURCE U.S. Small Business Administration

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Seretse hosts US business delegation

Seretse hosts US business delegation KEIKANTSE LESEMELA
Correspondent Botswana's ambassador to the United States, Tebelelo Seretse, says Batswana should look for business opportunities in the United States because it is a large market.

Speaking at a dinner she hosted for delegates of the United States Black Power at Gaborone Sun on Wednesday, Seretse said the balance sheet of a small business in US was equal to that of a large business in Botswana."If Batswana can realise this opportunity and start partnerships with US businesses, they could benefit a lot," she said."It is not an obligation for the government to do business, but it is the role of the private sector to invent business."

Ambassador Seretse added that the role of government was to ensure that the environment was conducive to business.Speaking at the same dinner, BOCCIM's head of  public affairs, Komissa Burzlaff, said due to its political stability and economic prudence, Botswana indeed had a favourable environment for investors. One of the delegates, Robert Shumake, said the "well-resourced" black business organisation was initiating a global partnership to enhance prosperity. The group is particularly active in education and micro lending

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Oracle PartnerNetwork Hosts Inaugural Oracle Applications and Industry Partner Summit - Yahoo Finance

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C4ISR hosts briefing for industry, small business conference - United States Army

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. (Dec. 21, 2011) -- Army leaders at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., hosted an advance planning briefing for industry, or ABPI, and small business conference to inform industry and business leaders of new opportunities to demonstrate their technologies for potential military use.

At a panel during the event, Chuck Pizzutelli, assistant Program Executive Officer for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical, known as PEO C3T, discussed specific steps the PEO C3T Technical Industrial Liaison Office is taking to contribute to this effort.

The semi-annual Network Integration Evaluation, NIE, which is part of the agile acquisition process that relies on Soldier feedback to rapidly incorporate new technologies into the Army portfolio, is emerging as one of the most effective processes for introducing new products to PEO C3T, Pizzutelli said.

"[We pay attention] whenever thumbs get raised or when (Soldiers) see a nice toy or capability out there -- that's the way we're looking for new products," Pizzutelli told the audience. "So, if you're looking to market things to us, I urge you to play on that."

Pizzutelli acknowledged the resources required for businesses to try out products in the NIE environment at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., but stressed that the Army will work with businesses of all sizes that demonstrate mature network solutions. Part of the NIE cycle and agile process involves first testing products in the laboratory environment at Aberdeen Proving Ground, known as APG.

This ensures that they are properly integrated into the network before being placed in Soldiers' hands, and that industry receives a thorough report on system performance, he said.

Pizzutelli joined hundreds of Army officials and trade leaders from companies ranging from large defense contractors to small businesses at the ABPI conference held earlier this month.

Kashia Simmons, public affairs officer for the Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center, or CERDEC, said this event helped explain to industry the mission of each Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, known as C4ISR, organization at APG, and how they work together on different programs and initiatives.

"Our industry partners are key to how well we are able to equip the Soldier," he said. "And if they don't know what we're doing, they can't appropriately help us get these capabilities into the hands of the Soldiers."

Teamwork within the C4ISR community, Simmons said, becomes essential.

"The opportunity to talk about how all those relationships cut across lines is really important," he said. "So, folks who have particular capabilities can see how they fit into our community from the research and development, sustainment and also from the program management perspective."

Direct contact with customers, Simmons said, solidifies CERDEC's ability to serve them.

"What better opportunity to learn what people need and want to know about our organization than to sit and speak to our customers and partners one-on-one and hear their questions," he said.

Business leaders from multiple states crowded into the conference hall to make new contacts and learn better ways to pool their resources with C4ISR organizations. Richard Usmiller, vice president of Human Capital for Savantage Solutions, was one of them.

With offices at Fort Belvoir, Va., Savantage Solutions is a software company that supplies Commercial-Off-The-Shelf, or COTS, products to federal agencies. Usmiller came to the C4ISR conference looking for ways to fuse Savantage's resources with C4ISR's.

The key for most of the attendees, Usmiller said, is the timeline. Receiving thorough and up-to-date information from the Army is essential to being able to compete, he said.

"Especially for small companies who are resource-limited," he said. "The key is anticipating and being able to bid on opportunities down the road."

For PEO C3T, the Technical Industrial Liaison Office is serving as the single point of entry for new vendors interested in partnering with the organization. The office's mission is to maintain a repository of vendor data and to maintain an updated journal of vendor dispositions to prevent redundant proposals.

During the panel, Pizzutelli discussed how PEO C3T is merging competitor outreach with the organization's long-standing goal of developing, fielding and supporting networked mission command solutions to enhance combat effectiveness.

Aside from the NIE, Pizzutelli highlighted several outreach opportunities being spearheaded by the Technical Industrial Liaison Office to support fielding and sustainment efforts on the battlefield. More information about these opportunities can be found at the Fed Biz Ops public website at https://www.fbo.gov.

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