Helping small businesses break into the corporate supply chain.

By I. Javette Hines, Head of Supplier Diversity and Sustainability, Citi March 01, 2011 10:04 AM

Citi is pleased to join New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, the City's Department of Small Business Services (SBS) and ten other private institutions in a new Corporate Alliance Program (CAP) designed to make it easier for minority- and women-owned small businesses to become suppliers to large organizations. The initiative builds on a program the SBS put in place for certified local businesses in 2006, and is expected to get a boost from the participation of institutions such as Citi that depend on a large number of suppliers and have a strong commitment to supplier diversity.

In his announcement, Mayor Bloomberg said becoming a corporate supplier would help give minority and women-owned firms new revenue streams and financial stability, positioning them for even more growth. "By teaming up with some of New York City's major corporate citizens, we'll expand our minority and women-owned business enterprise efforts to include private sector opportunities," he said. "...[W]e want New York City's minority and women-owned companies to benefit from New York City's strong and civic-minded business climate."

The founding companies will help shape the program, commit staff for training, donate space for events, develop a recruiting service to connect suppliers with new business, provide on-going mentoring and help underwrite costs of the program. Citi has extensive experience in this arena, having had a supplier diversity program in place since 1977. It has opened up many opportunities, and in 2009, Citi spent over $900 million with diverse suppliers.

The supply chains of large institutions are an enormous potential market for minority- and women-owned small businesses, and with guidance, those firms can break into them. It has been very rewarding to discuss, brainstorm and envision CAP and its potential benefits. We are proud to be a founding member.