By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com
The Governor’s Minority and Small Business Outreach Summit took place Nov. 19 inside of the Hilton at the Baltimore Inner Harbor.
Heather McCall, outreach manager for the Office of Small Minority Business Policy in the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT), led a session at the summit, sharing tips on how to find success in the Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) Program.
McCall laid out the eligibility requirements and shared some of the realities of being an MBE.
“MBE certification does not guarantee contract work, you still have to get out and get networking,” said McCall during the summit, held at the Hilton Baltimore Inner Harbor.
McCall said eligibility for the program falls under five categories, “ownership, minority status, control, personal net worth and size.”
“For the minority owner, you must own 51 percent of the business,” said McCall. “The ownership must be real and substantial. You must be a U.S. Citizen or a permanent resident. The firm must be located and headquartered in Maryland.”McCall also advised that the MBE certification process can take an average of three to six months to complete.
McCall said if a person’s firm is located in a different state, it must first be certified in that state, then it can get certified in Maryland.
MBE certifications are reviewed annually to confirm a business’s continued eligibility.
“When you get to your MBE officer, please give them grace,” said McCall. “We’re trying to uphold the integrity of the program, and make sure everyone that applies is eligible.”
McCall emphasized that business owners who apply “must have managerial, technical competence and experience” directly in coordination with the services they “are trying to perform.”
During the application process, an MBE officer will investigate the services the business owner claimed to provide and the experience associated with it.
McCall also addressed the personal net worth cap for MBEs, which is currently $2,073,412, and the size of a firm’s business.
“We apply the U.S. Small Business Administration’s size standards,” she said. McCall said size standards that apply to a particular applicant can vary depending on the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code, a federal system for identifying and collecting data on businesses.
In another session, Tyrone Carter, an information technology functional analyst for the State of Maryland, provided tips for navigating state solicitations through eMaryland Marketplace Advantage (eMMA), the state’s virtual procurement system.
The eMMA system is an outgrowth of work done by the 2016 Commission to Modernize State Procurement. The system went live in 2019. Carter spoke about advanced search filters, which could make navigating through state solicitations more efficient and using keywords.
“If you’re just browsing, trying to find something that fits what you’re trying to do, you’re looking through thousands and thousands of options,” said Carter.
He pointed out that with the dropdown options, applicants can search by certain departments within the state they’re trying to work with, such as the Maryland Department of Public Safety and Correctional Services.
Carter also encouraged attendees to pursue state contracts through eMMA, even if their account is not fully activated yet.
“Your account being in registered status does not stop you from bidding,” he said. “If you submit to a bid and you win it…the procurement officer, at that time, will take you through the process of activating your account.”
For those interested in being MBE certified, check out mdot.maryland.gov to sign up for one of Maryland’s free monthly certification application assistance workshops.