LITTLE ROCK -- For small businesses looking to expand their clientele, the state of Arkansas could be a potential customer.
The Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center will offer a free virtual workshop, "Selling to the State of Arkansas," on Feb. 11 from 1-2:30 p.m. Participants will learn about state procurement regulations and procedures for submitting bids with the state.
There is no cost to attend, but registration is required. To register, visit https://bit.ly/3qEnUC4.
The Arkansas Procurement Technical Assistance Center is housed at the Cooperative Extension Service, part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. It provides government contracting technical assistance to Arkansas small businesses.
In 2020, the center's clients received more than $204 million in federal, state and local government contracts. Of that amount, $9.4 million were from state and local contracts.
"This equates to 4,342 jobs created or retained in the state of Arkansas," the center's Program Director Melanie Berman said. "Arkansas PTAC has worked very hard over the past few years to connect our small business clients to purchasing officials within the federal, state and local government. Sometimes the most difficult part of selling to the government is understanding what each government agency's preferred process is for vendors."
At the Feb. 11 workshop, the center's counselors will teach participants what is needed to sell to the state of Arkansas. Leaders from the Office of State Procurement will also share best practices for vendors, and participants will be able to ask questions.
For more information, visit http://uaex.edu/ptac, email PTAC@uaex.edu, or call (501) 671-2390.
The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture's mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation's historic land grant education system.
The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.
Tracy Courage is a writer with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture