Sen. Adriano Espaillat Selected to Gov. Cuomo's Minority and Women Owned Business Enterprise (MWBE) Team

(New York, NY) – Today, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the selection of his Minority and Women Owned Enterprise (MWBE) Team, including Sen. Adriano Espaillat (D – 31^st District). The MWBE team is tasked with assessing and advising on ways to expand Minority and women owned business in New York State.

 “As a life-long advocate for Minority and women owned businesses, I am truly honored to be selected on Gov. Cuomo’s MWBE team,” said Sen. Adriano Espaillat. “With the economic recession threatening to rollback the progress made by Minority and women owned businesses, there couldn’t be a better time to roll up our sleeves and get to work on this critical issue.”

 The MWBE team has been established through an executive order issued by Gov. Cuomo. Currently, MWBE businesses make up only 9.2% of New York State’s contracting and procurement process. Gov. Cuomo aims to use the MWBE team to double that number, bringing the proportion of Minority and women owned businesses that receive state contracts to 20%.

 “Gov. Cuomo’s MWBE initiative will not only double the number of Minority and women owned businesses that benefit from the state procurement process, it will help level the playing field by providing support that is so crucial in the development of small businesses,” said Sen. Espaillat.

 The executive order issued by Gov. Cuomo identifies six key barriers to MWBE participation:

• Commitment from agency leadership to meeting MWBE goals
• Access to information
• Specificity in contracts regarding MWBE participation
• Assistance and supportive services programs
• Obstacles in credit and bonding that lead to difficulty in securing state contracts
• Inconsistent and infrequent monitoring and compliance during contract period

“Our economy can only move forward through job creation and economic development. Supporting Minority and women owned businesses is not only fair, it’s also smart,” said Sen. Espaillat. “I look forward to working with Gov. Cuomo in supporting our MWBE businesses and helping turn around New York’s economy.”