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New York State MWBE utilization approaches goal of 30 percent
Published on 10/03/2019

In 2014, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo set a minority- and women-owned business enterprise (MWBE) utilization goal of 30 percent for state contracting. The state has recently come closer than ever before in reaching that goal: while the utilization rate for the 2017-2018 fiscal year was 28.62 percent, for the 2018-2019 fiscal year the utilization rate was 29.13 percent. This marks approximately $2.93 billion in state contracts awarded to MWBEs during the 2018-2019 fiscal year, and additionally represents the highest MWBE utilization rate by any state during that period.

"In New York, we know that diversity is a strength, not a weakness - and when we empower minority and women-owned businesses to compete for state contracts, we create a better New York for all," Governor Cuomo said at the state's ninth annual MWBE Forum.

Attaining the 30 percent goal would represent a great deal of progress since 2011, when Governor Cuomo first set a MWBE utilization goal of 20 percent, which was quickly met and surpassed. Since 2011, MWBEs have been awarded almost $16 billion in state contracting dollars. Growth in the utilization rate since 2011 is due to a variety of factors and initiatives, including an array of technical assistance programs for MWBEs, inter-agency cooperation across the state, the Supply & Demand Utilization Initiative which looks for industries with particularly low rates of MWBE utilization to tailor outreach to, a mentoring program which supports large primes in providing development to MWBEs, and more.

For more information, visit https://www.governor.ny.gov/news/governor-cuomo-announces-statewide-minority-and-women-owned-business-enterprise-utilization-1. 

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