Virginia doing more business with small business

Published Sunday, Jul. 16, 2017, 8:02 am Join AFP's 100,000+ followers on Facebook Purchase a subscription to AFP | Subscribe to AFP podcasts on iTunes News, press releases, letters to the editor: augustafreepress2@gmail.com Advertising inquiries: freepress@ntelos.net

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Government entities have spent over $500 million with Virginia small business under policies Gov. Terry McAuliffe created to help them compete for government business.

Since McAuliffe took office in January 2014, more than $695 million in additional purchase orders have gone to new, Virginia-based businesses that registered in eVA, Virginia’s online marketplace for businesses to provide goods and services to state and local government bodies.

“One of my priorities in the new Virginia economy was the promotion of a diverse and vibrant private sector, particularly among our homegrown businesses and small, traditionally disadvantaged companies,” said Governor McAuliffe. “These encouraging results show our policies are expanding opportunity for Virginia businesses of all sizes.”

Many of these results can be attributed to Executive Order 20, which McAuliffe signed in July 2014 in an effort to expand contracting opportunities for small businesses in the Commonwealth. Provisions of EO20 include that it:

Established the Micro business designation for companies with 25 or fewer employees and no more than $3 million in average annual revenue for the previous three years and established a $10,000 set-aside to make it easier for government to purchase from Micro businesses;

Increased the small businesses set-aside from $50,000 to $100,000 for goods and nonprofessional services when the price quoted is fair and reasonable;

Directed agencies to exceed a 42 percent contracting goal of expenditures – the highest goal in the Commonwealth’s history – with certified small businesses; and,

Required agencies that perform procurement functions to expand vendor outreach programs to encourage a diverse vendor base.

The results are made available through eVA, which makes it easier for businesses to get noticed, and also increases transparency by allowing anyone to see what government agencies and institutions are buying and from whom.

“The eVA enhancements we made to support Governor McAuliffe’s small business goals have resulted in a more inclusive procurement process by giving new and small companies better visibility to compete for government business,” said Chris Beschler, Director of the Department of General Services. “Through eVA’s transparency features, anyone can see past, current and future purchases, as well as detailed order and contract information.”

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