{"id":10287,"date":"2025-05-21T10:41:39","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:41:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greaterlouisville.com\/?p=10287"},"modified":"2025-05-21T10:41:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T14:41:39","slug":"greater-louisville-inc-louisville-metro-government-partner-to-help-connect-small-businesses-corporations-for-future-contracting-opportunities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greaterlouisville.com\/press-releases\/greater-louisville-inc-louisville-metro-government-partner-to-help-connect-small-businesses-corporations-for-future-contracting-opportunities\/","title":{"rendered":"Greater Louisville Inc., Louisville Metro Government Partner to Help Connect Small Businesses, Corporations for Future Contracting Opportunities"},"content":{"rendered":"

Louisville, Ky.<\/strong> (May 21, 2025) \u2013 Greater Louisville Inc. and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg\u2019s Office joined forces to host a matchmaking event between Louisville corporations and small businesses to forge new connections and create future contracting opportunities. The joint event is a collaboration between Mayor Greenberg\u2019s Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force and GLI\u2019s Economic Inclusion department to help entrepreneurs from underrepresented populations increase their access to capital through new corporate and government contracts.<\/p>\n

Over the last five years, the city and business community have made concerted efforts to help underrepresented businesses access investment and growth opportunities that have been restricted in the past. According to Lending Tree, Louisville has the lowest number<\/a> of minority-owned businesses per 1,000 minority residents, ranking in the bottom of all metros across the nation.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Left to right: Dr. Eric Jordan, Senior Manager of Economic Inclusion, GLI; Dana Johnson, Vice President of Economic Inclusion, GLI; Chan Kemper, Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Executive Director of the Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force; Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg; Tony Parrott, CEO of MSD and Chair of the Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force; Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, President and CEO, GLI.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cLocally owned companies make up a very significant part of Louisville\u2019s economy, creating high paying jobs and employing thousands of people across our city,\u201d said Mayor Greenberg. \u201cI\u2019m thankful to Chan, our team, and GLI for organizing these types of wonderful events to engage local business owners and give them opportunities for new contracts with Metro and our partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trade-show style event was hosted at the Louisville Central Community Center and included booths set up for procurement leaders of 13 corporate partners, where more than 80 small businesses pitched their services and discussed opportunities for future partnerships. Corporate partners included some of Louisville\u2019s largest private companies, as well as public utilities and services. Small businesses pitching their services included a number of graduates from GLI\u2019s Power to Prosper Business Accelerator and other local incubators looking to grow their operations in Louisville.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor small businesses, a large corporate contract can be the launchpad to take their company to the next level. That\u2019s why we are proud to work with Mayor Greenberg and use our connections as the Metro Chamber of Commerce to create relationships between businesses that will hopefully lead to new partnerships,\u201d said Sarah Davasher-Wisdom, president and CEO of GLI. \u201cThese partnerships are equally beneficial for large corporations to encourage investment in local suppliers rather than outsourcing beyond the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event included remarks from Greenberg, Davasher-Wisdom, Chan Kemper, Senior Advisor to the Mayor and Executive Director of the Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force, and Tony Parrott, CEO of the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD).<\/p>\n

\u201cPartnering with Louisville Metro and GLI is such a significant and important opportunity for small and minority owned businesses to network with larger contracting firms and companies to build relationships and learn about how they can grow their businesses and pursue contracting opportunities. MSD is supportive of the Mayor\u2019s and GLI vision of growing local contractor capacity to support economic development and utility infrastructure needs in our community,\u201d said Tony Parrott, CEO of MSD and Chair of the Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Participants connect during matchmaker event.<\/p><\/div>\n

For more information on GLI\u2019s Economic Inclusion initiatives, click here<\/a>. For more information on the Mayor\u2019s Equity in Contracting and Procurement Task Force, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Louisville, Ky. (May 21, 2025) \u2013 Greater Louisville Inc. and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg\u2019s Office joined forces to host a matchmaking event between Louisville corporations and small businesses to forge new connections and create future contracting opportunities. The joint event is a collaboration between Mayor Greenberg\u2019s Equity in Contracting and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nGreater Louisville Inc., Louisville Metro Government Partner to Help Connect Small Businesses, Corporations for Future Contracting Opportunities – One Louisville<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Louisville, Ky. 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