2022 California Small Business Forum and Workshop
How can small businesses do business with the state of California? What are the funding programs available to them? What does government contracting involve? Where can small businesses get the tools and resources needed to compete for government contracts?
On May 26th, Silicon Valley Community Media, together with APAPA and American Teo-Chew Foundation, held the 2022 California Small Business Forum and Workshop at Ding Ding TV studio. It was a product of team work between Louis Lam (American Teo-Chew Foundation), Diana Ding (Silicon Valley Community Media), and Henry Yin (APAPA). Over 200 small business owners registered for the workshop online, and over 30 people attended the event in person. Christian Malesic (President/CEO, Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce) and Diana Ding moderated the event.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Asian- and Ethnic-owned small businesses were hit especially hard. The bipartisan $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill directs the agencies to increase contracting spending on small, disadvantaged businesses by 50% over the next five years. It represents a golden opportunity for small AAPI- and Ethnic-owned businesses. However, many small business owners are not aware of the resource available or where to start.
Government contracting requires specialist knowledge. The purpose of the 2022 California Small Business Forum and Workshop was to help Asian and Ethnic communities and small business owners get the tools, resources, and training they need to compete for government contracts. Also, the event organizers considered this to be the best way to give back to the community and celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month.
Partners on the event were Asian Inc, Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce, US-China Chamber of Commerce Silicon Valley, Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce, CBC and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA), and Ethnic Media Services.
Elected officials and speakers at the event included Fiona Ma (34th California State Treasurer), Lisa Gillmor (Mayor of Santa Clara), Lily Mei (Mayor of Fremont), Chappie Jones (Vice Mayor of San Jose), and Anthony Phan (Milpitas City Council).
The event gathered speakers and experts from several state agencies: the State of California Department of General Services Office of Small Business and DVBE Services / Procurement Division, California Infrastructure and Economic Development Bank, CBC, and Minority Business Development Agency (MBDA).
