City of Tampa Women/Minority Business Enterprise (WMBE) Program

The WMBE Program was established in 1991 to provide women and minority businesses equal contract opportunities in construction, professional services, and goods and non-professional services. On a continuous basis the MBD Office conducts outreach efforts to identify and register women and minority businesses interested in supplying goods and services to the City.

The City of Tampa's WMBE Executive Order 98-2

By executive order the City of Tampa's WMBE Program states that minority and women owned businesses shall have maximum feasible opportunity to participate in the performance of City Contracts. The established participation goals are: 25.0% participation for construction contracts, 14.0% for professional services, and 4.0% for goods and non-professional services.

Who Benefits from the services?

The program's emphasis is towards women, black, and Hispanic businesses. A bona fide women or minority business is one which is owned and controlled by at least fifty-one percent (51%) women or minority group members. Women or minority members are Caucasian women of European descent, blacks, Hispanics, and other minorities for federally funded projects only.

How can I participate in the WMBE Program?

The first step is to fill out an application form for certification. This form is available on the City of Tampa's website at TampaGov.net, or it can be mailed to you, or can be picked up at the MBD Office at 306 E. Jackson St. 7th Floor East.

What is the Purchasing Department's procurement Policy?

The policy of the City's Purchasing Department is that procurement practices are non-discriminatory and to promote equality of opportunity. The WMBE Program Office monitors all departments regarding the percentage of participation for women, black, and Hispanic.

How are purchases made?

Firms interested in doing business with the City of Tampa are encouraged to complete a vendor application form. Blank forms can be obtained either from the MBD Office or the Purchasing Department located on the second floor of the City Hall Annex, 306 E. Jackson St. downtown Tampa, (813) 274-8351.

What is the role of the City of Tampa?

The City has a fundamental responsibility to provide opportunities for certified women and minority businesses. This allows them to effectively participate in the bidding process for all City procurement. When this responsibility is met, women and minority businesses contribute to the "Economic Development" of the community. To contact the Minority Business Development Office please call (813) 274-5522.

Address: 306 E. Jackson St. 7th Fl. 33602

Website

Other organizations Business Loan Programs and Assistance

The City of Tampa has several business assistance programs for the public.

Tampa Bay Economic Development Corporation (TEDCO), is a private, not-for-profit corporation committed to supporting economic development and job creation in Hillsborough County. TEDCO participates at the federal level with the Small Businesses Administration's 504 Commercial Loan program, administers four city-funded revitalization programs, a city-funded loan guarantee program, and a private loan program funded by six local banks. TEDCO also provides architectural assistance through a façade improvement program. For more information, please contact TEDCO.

Tampa Black Business Investment Corporation (TBBIC) also provides loan financing and technical assistance to minorities. For more information, please contact TBBIC. Hispanic Business Initiative Fund (HBIF) also provides technical assistance to Hispanics who are interested in starting a business. For more information, please contact HBIF at 813-980-2765.

Hillsborough County DM / DWBE and SBE Programs Overview of Program Services and Eligibility Standards Purpose

The purpose of the Hillsborough County Disadvantaged Minority / Disadvantaged Women Business Enterprise (DM / DWBE) and Small Business Enterprise (SBE) Encouragement Program is to provide full opportunity for minority / women owned and small businesses to participate in the County's procurement programs which include construction, contractual services, professional consulting services, and commodities.

DM / DWBE Program Services

• In construction, project by project DM / DWBE goals are established for each project valued at $200,000.00 or more.
• Professional Consultant Selection; a DM / DWBE Bonus Point system is used
• DM / DWBE Directory Service.
• Periodic Seminars and Workshops on how to do business with the County and other topics.

DM / DWBE Eligibility

Firms interested in participating must meet the following minimum standards:

• The business must be principally domiciled in the State of Florida and serve a commercially useful function.
• The business must be at least 51% owned by eligible minorities or women.
• The eligible minorities or women must control the management and daily operations.
• The applicant shall demonstrate that the net worth of the business does not exceed $2,000,000.00 and employ not more that 50 persons averaged over a two year period.
• Reciprocity shall be granted to DM / DWBE firms that are principally domiciled in the State of Florida and certified by many local jurisdictions situated throughout the State. Reciprocity shall be for one six (6) month period for those firms who are certified by other jurisdictions and seek to participate on a Hillsborough County project. Certification beyond the initial six (6) month period may be granted upon satisfactory review of the firm's certification application.

Eligible Minority Groups

Eligible minority group members are individuals who are citizens or lawful permanent residents of the US and who are African-American, Hispanic, American Indian, or Asian. Women are considered as minority group members for the purpose of this program.

• AFRICAN AMERICAN - A person having origins in any of the Black racial groups of Africa.
• HISPANIC - A person of Spanish or Portuguese culture with origins in Spain, Portugal, Mexico, South America, Central America, or the Caribbean Islands, regardless of race.
• ASIAN - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, the Indian Subcontinent, or the Pacific Islands.
• AMERICAN INDIAN - A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America.

SBE Program Benefits

• Capital Construction projects valued at less than $500,000 may be set aside for bidding by registered SBE firms only.
• Purchases of competitively bid commodities may be set-aside for registered SBE's. Set-asides shall be economically feasible contracts or portions of contracts.
• Purchases of competitively bid contractual services may be set-aside for registered SBE's. Set-asides shall be economically feasible contracts or portions of contracts.
• Professional consulting services miscellaneous projects may be set-aside for competition among registered SBE consulting firms only.
• When a registered SBE firm is awarded a county project as a PRIME CONTRACTOR, the County may permit the issuance of joint checks for the SBE and his / her primary material supplier(s).
• Periodic seminars and workshops will be conducted regarding procurement opportunities offered by Hillsborough County as well as business education.

SBE Minimum Eligibility Standards

Firms interested in participating must meet the following minimum standards:

• A firm's annual gross sales in the previous three-year period cannot exceed $3,000,000;
• Each business applying for registration as an SBE must be an independently owned and operated business which employs twenty-five (25) or fewer permanent full-time employees.
• The business must be principally domiciled in Hillsborough County, Florida.
• The business must have been established for a period of one year prior to application, and the business must serve a commercially useful function.
• Franchises, subsidiaries and affiliates shall not be eligible for this program.

Eligibility Determination

• After the completed application has been received, reviewed and evaluated, an on-site visit may be scheduled.
• Denials of certification may be appealed to the Administrative Certification Review Panel.
• Denials of registration may be appealed to the Administrative Certification Review Panel.

How to Apply

All applications are submitted and accepted online.

For assistance with certification contact Rita Sauri. Telephone: (813) 307-8309

A Minority and Small Business Directory is available online.

Additional Contact:

Theresa Kempa, MCA, MBE / SBE Manager Telephone: (813) 276-2729

• Latin Business Association 
• Minority Business Development Agency 
• National Minority Supplier Development Council 
• SCORE Resources for Minority Owned Businesses

• Tampa Bay Rays Social Justice page

Documentaries

Reconstruction: America After the Civil War – This series explores the transformative years following the American Civil War, when the nation struggled to rebuild itself in the face of profound loss, massive destruction, and revolutionary social change. The 12 years that composed the post-war Reconstruction era witnessed a seismic shift in the meaning and make up of our democracy, with millions of former slaves and free black people seeking out their rightful place as equal citizens under the law.

The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross – This series chronicles the full sweep of African American history, from the origins of slavery on the African continent right up to today when America remains a nation deeply divided by race.

Slavery by Another Name – This 90-minute documentary that challenges one of Americans’ most cherished assumptions: the belief that slavery in this country ended with the Emancipation Proclamation. Slavery by Another Name gives voice to the largely forgotten victims and perpetrators of forced labor and features their descendants living today.

United Shades of America – Explores race in American and the challenges that communities face.

Online Publications, Resources & Websites

• Slavery in America
• Separate is Not Equal Brown vs Board of Education
• The History of Policing in the United States
• Slave Patrols
• LGBTQ+ History
• Dismantle Collective

Books

• Freedom Riders: 1961 and the Struggle for Racial Justice – Raymond Arsenault
• The Condemnation of Blackness: Race, Crime, and the Making of Modern Urban America – Khalil Gibran Muhammad
• The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness – Michelle Alexander
• Slave Patrols – Sally E Hadden
• Antisemitism Here and Now – Deborah E. Lipstadt