Federal Government Contracting Workshop Targets Maui Small Business

Caption: Melanie Martin, Hawaii Dept. of Transportation’s program supervisor for the DBE Program, will be at the event on May 22.

By Sonia Isotov

On Wednesday, May 22, the Maui Business Development Center, Minority Business Development Agency’s Business Center in Honolulu, and Hawaii Department of Transportation will be hosting a free workshop for small business owners interested in government certification and contracting resources.

“In an nutshell, this is the third installment of a state-wide workshop designed to educate business owners in the local community about business opportunities with the federal government,” said Dana O. Hauanio, the director of the Minority Business Development Center in Honolulu.

“This workshop is intended to assist small businesses looking to become federal contractors or expand their scope of efforts in federal procurement.”

In addition to Hauanio, other speakers at the event are slated to include: Jerry Hirata, a business development officer with the US Small Business Administration; and Melanie Martin, the program supervisor for the US Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program; and Don Fukuhara from the Hawai`i Department of Transportation’s Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program.

“Research shows [that] the federal government lists the Department of Defense (DoD), and DoD-related procurement, as [occupying] the five largest buys for the State of Hawai`i. This does not include the procurement activities that are federally funded through the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation,” explained Hauanio.

“This mirrors on the island of Maui with the exception of National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration and Department of the Interior.”

The agencies are encouraging veteran owned or small business such as contractors, subcontractors (construction related), consultants, haulers, suppliers, manufacturers and service providers to attend.

According to promotional materials, the workshop will focus on these areas of government contracting:

• How to apply for Disadvantaged Business Enterprise program certification
• Learn more about SBA on-line training, especially for veterans
• Find out about the SBA Veterans’ Patriot Express and other lines of credit and term loan assistance
• What you need to know about becoming a federal contractor
• How to start doing business with the federal government

The workshop will take place at the Maui Economic Opportunity office at 99 Mahalani Street in Wailuku from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. in classroom 1. The workshop is free to all registrants. For more information email: [email protected] or at call (808) 587-6333