Brooklyn's Progress
March 2004

By Fred Graves

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce's Minority & Women Business Owners Committee (MWBO) held its first certification workshop of 2004 on Feb. 3.  The MWBO Committee exists to provide assistance and address the particular needs of the minority and women business owners’ community.  The committee is also seeking to raise awareness of certification and provide procurement opportunities for minority and women business owners.

The Certification Workshop was held at the Brooklyn Business Library. The workshop informed minority and women business owners about the benefits of becoming certified, explained the certification process, and certified minority and women businesses in Brooklyn.  The attendance was over 40 minority and women business owners seeking to expand their business into government contracting. 

Maud Andrew-Quintana, Senior Librarian for Small Business at the Brooklyn Business Library gave a presentation on the library resources available to assist small business owners.  Two agencies participated in the workshop – NYC Department of Small Business Services and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.  Walter Maxwell, Associate Director of External Affairs provided the information about the MWBE program with the City and other SBS services and programs.  Danny Camacho, Manager of Business Services, from the Office of Civil Rights, gave the overview of the MTA certification process.  The program was very interactive and ended with break out sessions to certify businesses if they could provide the appropriate documents. 

The next MWBO Committee event, as a follow up to the Certification Workshop, will be a Procurement Seminar, featuring Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, who will inform minority and women business owners about federal procurement opportunities throughout Brooklyn.  The event will be held in April.  Check the online calendar at the Brooklyn Chamber's web site ibrooklyn.com for more details.