Special guest Marisa Neal (pictured) recently spoke at the Bell County Chamber of Commerce monthly “Soup and Sandwich” business luncheon. Neal is a representative from Ky.’s Procurement Assistance Program and explained that local, state and federal governments can boost the state’s business development.
According to Neal, KPAP is designed to help state firms market their goods and services to federal, state and local governments. KPAP is housed in the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development and is operated from the Department for Business Development’s Small Business Services Division.
KPAP currently serves more than 2,000 active firms, including construction, manufacturing, service, research and development, wholesale and retail outlets. Annually, those firms’ surveys report that they have received over $100 million in government contracts and subcontracts.
Neal said that KPAP’s program is very beneficial, unfortunately, most businesses are unaware of the services they offer.
Mainly, the procurement office aids businesses in marketing themselves to government agencies. They offer government marketing assistance to get businesses off of their feet; one on one consulting to familiarize businesses with their options and group training to educate the entire staff of KPAP’s availability and services.
The federal government reportedly spends $40 billion each year in contracts to small businesses. Procurement office statistics show that the federal government signs 56,000 contracts everyday. Neal said, “they are the world’s biggest customer and feds buy virtually everything.” Most importantly, Kentucky businesses need to know that feds could be interested in their goods and services as well, Neal concluded.
For the past several months, KPAP has been attempting to reserve state businesses with stimulus funding. Neal said that the first step in that process is to register with the Federal Central Contractor at www.ccr.gov. Searchable databases used by federal buyers and private sector companies are available once you are registered.
To find out more about KPAP contact Neal at (800) 838-3266 or via e-mail at Marisa.Neal@ky.gov. You may also visit www.thinkkentucky.com and select Business Assistance/Small Business Support for information.
Sarah Miracle is a Staff Writer for the Daily News. She can be contacted via e-mail at smiracle@middlesborodailynews.com.
Post a Comment
