SBA Hosts Business Matchmaking to Link Small Businesses with Federal Contract Opportunities During National Small Business Week

The U.S. Small Business Administration will host a business matchmaking event allowing small businesses to discuss procurement opportunities with major corporations and federal agencies during National Small Business Week on May 22 in Washington, DC.

The event will give small businesses from across the country gathered for National Small Business Week an opportunity to have face-to-face meetings with prime contractors and federal agencies to learn about specific contracting and subcontracting opportunities. This is part of SBA's Procurement Day which will also feature federal contracting panels on gaining access to federal prime contracting and subcontracting opportunities.

The business matchmaking sessions are open to small businesses that register for National Small Business Week. Small businesses must have a DUNS number, which can be obtained by going to the DUNS official Web site at (www.dnb.com/us), and must be registered in Central Contractor Registration (www.ccr.gov), the federal government's official database of small businesses wishing to secure federal contracts.

The face-to-face matchmaking meetings will be 15 minutes, matching approximately 150 businesses and 20 buyers based on their compatibility and the buying needs of the federal agencies and corporations. Small business owners interested in participating must first register for National Small Business Week at www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com.

Once registered, they will receive a code to allow them to complete their business matchmaking registration at: https://nsbw.mybusinessmatches.com. Registration for the event will close on May 18, 2012. One session will be held on May 22 from 10:00a.m.-12:30p.m. and the second session will be held from 3:00p.m.-5:00p.m.

During the forums, small businesses will learn how to market themselves to the federal government and go after government contracting opportunities. Once small-business owners register for the workshops, they will have the option of attending any of three sessions:

• Government Contracting 101: Small Business Contracting Programs (10:00-11:15a.m.)
• Insights into Federal Contracting Opportunities with Federal Agency Offices of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization (OSDBUs) (10:00-11:15a.m. and 11:30a.m.-12:45p.m.)
• Improving your Business through Subcontracting Opportunities (11:30a.m.-12:45p.m.)

For more information about the matchmaking event, visit: https://nsbw.mybusinessmatches.com and National Small Business Week http://www.nationalsmallbusinessweek.com.