CU Grow Hosts Third Procurement Event for Cohort 5

The CU Grow Vendor Development program hosted its third virtual procurement event of 2021 on August 12, 2021. To support minority-, women- and locally owned (MWL) businesses along with Columbia University Facilities & Operations (CUFO) key contacts to network and discuss potential business opportunities within the University's various campuses. The event brought together the firms Cohort 5 of CU Grow and program alumni to meet with Columbia University project managers and a partner organization to discuss potential contracting opportunities and MWBE resources.  

Dr. Bonnie Schnitta, Founder and CEO of SoundSense and alumni of the CU Grow program, provided opening remarks, sharing her experience as a participant and how she questioned the work the CU Grow program required of her until she realized it helped her focus on the future of her business, something she was not used to doing.  Joining Bonnie were Columbia Project Managers, including Andrew Reed (Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory), Darby Kline (Columbia University Irving Medical Center), and José Morel (Manhattanville Development Group), who presented upcoming renovation and improvement projects available for bidding at their respective campuses. President of MBE Capital Partners, Carra Wallace, also provided participants with knowledge on current invoice financing solutions for MWBE's and strategies to access capital.

The event concluded with breakout sessions, allowing participants to network virtually with each presenter for discussion to understand how to align their business capabilities with the available contracting possibilities.   

The CU Grow Program is currently accepting interest forms for firms who would like to apply to   Cohort 6, which will begin in 2022. To learn more about the program offerings and how to apply, complete the interest form, and visit cufo.columbia.edu/cu-grow.