(Editor’s Note: by Juan Guillen, entrepreneur, CEO & Publisher) I am believer and an advocate of entrepreneurship, it’s one of my passions. As an entrepreneur myself, I know through experience of the up and downs, the excitement, the challenges and even the fears that many of us face and deal with. I find it fascinating and inspirational to see someone take nothing but an idea that’s only in their minds and bring it to life, that’s inspiring. The innovation that many entrepreneurs bring about, create jobs, new opportunities, new sectors and new forms of revenue. This adds to the fabric that makes America a truly great nation AKA as the land of opportunity.
Speaking about business and entrepreneurship New York City does Billions of dollars awarding contacts to local business in many sectors. That is a great thing for business in New York, the problem is they are failing badly with woman and minority owned business in our great city. As a matter of fact they just got a D on their report card by Scott Stringer, NYC comptroller. Stringers office has a rating system that monitors all of the city agencies and how much contracts they award to minority and woman owned business in particular(MWBE), and they do not look good! Read the updated article with new information from NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer below editor’s note here The city is trying, but much more work needs to be done as you will see from the report. It’s great to see proactive action like this report from the Comptrollers office, kudos to Scott Stringer and his staff for taking some action! Change has to occur to get that needle to move in the right direction on this disparity issue, especially with Hispanic owned business which have been the fastest growing not only in New York but throughout the country, yet the most underrepresented. According to research firm Geoscape, the numbers of Hispanic owned business in the US grew from1.6 Million (2002), 2.6 Million (2007), 3.2 Million (2012) and 4.07 Million (2015).
I have been an advocate to this cause, as I believe that this city has many viable business that are MWBE owned which have the will, talent and ability to serve some of the cities needs pertaining to fulfilling work and services needed by the city and they deserve a chance just like anyone else, because at the end of the day, inclusion is not only good for New York, it’s good for the entire nation AND it make great business sense, because it impacts the overall economy for the better, as research and case studies have shown.
Below is a video clip interview on NY1 News with Errol Louis on this subject in which I was invited along with the dean of the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism Sarah Bartlett and the executive director of the Center for Community & Ethnic Media (CCEM) Gary Pierre-Pierre of the CUNY Journalism School and founder & publisher of the Haitian Times. The subject matter was; Ideas and suggestions in which the new incoming Mayor, Bill de Blasio’s and his administration may consider to work more effectively with New York’s ethnic media, who provide a very important outlet to millions of immigrant and non-immigrant New Yorkers, and how NYC agencies could possibly engage more and better with these important New York media outlets, which have been grossly left out historically by the City in regards to advertising and overall outreach.
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The total share of City procurement with minority and women-owned business enterprises (M/WBEs) declined in Fiscal Year 2016, according to a report released today by New York City Comptroller Scott M. Stringer. In the first drop in three years, only 4.8 percent of the City’s $15.3 billion annual procurement budget went to M/WBEs in FY16. The numbers were unveiled in the Comptroller’s third-annual make the grade report, which evaluates Mayoral agencies – as well as the Comptroller’s Office itself – on their spending with M/WBEs. See for yourself & check out the full report here: http://on.nyc.gov/2dVO0iQ
Due to continued low spending with these firms, the City earned an overall grade of “D+” for the second year in a row.
- Only 4.8% of procurement went to M/WBEs in FY16, a decline from FY15
- Roughly 80% of certified M/WBEs did not receive payments from the City
- First-of-its-kind interactive maps will help policymakers understand which neighborhoods receive M/WBE spending, which lag behind
This year’s M/WBE procurement rate of 4.8% is a substantial decrease from last year’s rate of 5.3%. While overall City M/WBE procurement has gone up, the share with M/WBEs has gone down. The Comptroller’s report is intended to highlight these issues, provoke constructive conversation, and recommend changes to the M/WBE program to yield better outcomes.
“As much as we talk about moving forward, this report demonstrates that at least for the last fiscal year, we moved backwards and have a long way to go. Government needs to lead by example, but it’s clear that when it comes to securing City contracts, our minority and women-owned businesses still aren’t getting a fair shot. By shining a spotlight on this issue, today’s report gives us another chance to focus on getting this right. This isn’t about blame, but instead about inducing change,” Comptroller Stringer said. “Right now, game-changing shifts just aren’t happening. Ensuring minority and women-owned businesses have a fighting chance will increase competition in City procurement and boost local economies all across New York. Today, we’re outlining a roadmap so agencies can do a better job delivering results.”
Although there are roughly 540,000 minority-owned and 414,000 women-owned firms in New York City, only 4,527 – less than 1 percent – are certified with the City. Further, the Comptroller’s analysis found just 994 of these certified firms received City spending in FY16.
This year, the Comptroller’s Office is also releasing a first-of-its-kind series of interactive online maps, to help the public understand breakdowns in City M/WBE spending. To see the maps – which show which certified M/WBEs received City spending by race, ethnicity,
For the third year in a row, “Making the Grade” uses data from Checkbooknyc.com Comptroller’s transparency website, to analyze how much 31 Mayoral Agencies and the Comptroller’s Office spent with M/WBEs during the last fiscal year. Each agency is graded on the amount they spend on construction, professional services, standard services, and goods, based on the guidelines set forth in Local Law 1 of 2013.
“After three years of poor grades on M/WBE spending, it’s time to get to work on an agenda that will deliver real change. If we continue at the pace we’re going, New York City won’t see a difference for many, many years, and that is simply unacceptable for our small business owners. By holding agencies accountable for their spending – or lack thereof – we can give these firms a fair shot at economic growth,” Comptroller Stringer said.
