(Washington, DC) – Today, Mayor Muriel Bowser joined District officials to discuss the unprecedented support for small businesses in the District. The Mayor released the Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17) Small Business Enterprises (SBEs) spending goal, as well as the FY17 SBE Opportunity Guide. This guide includes an agency-by-agency overview of SBEs spending availability, and Certified Business Enterprise Connect - an online platform for SBEs to access information, while searching for opportunities in real time. Each tool was enhanced to be more user-friendly to better support the needs of small businesses in the procurement process.

“Small businesses are the engine of our economy and I am committed to creating an environment where District businesses can start, thrive, and grow,” said Mayor Bowser. “We are providing tools for small businesses to succeed and creating opportunities for them to have a fair shot.”

In FY16, the Bowser Administration committed to spend $317 million with SBEs and surpassed that goal by spending more than $600 million. The goal for FY17 is to spend $564 million with SBEs. This ambitious spending goal is the result of an updated process adopted by the Department of Small and Local Business Development.