A group of elected officials joined the Culture and Capital event in Brooklyn last week to help young entrepreneurs and small business owners figure out the best ways to land city and state government contracts.
“These are doors that we were never privy to and we have to open them up,” said Council Member Kevin Riley, who sponsors the Minority Youth-owned Business Enterprise (MYBE) bill.
The MYBE bill would require the city’s small business department to establish a youth entrepreneurship program for individuals between the ages of 18 and 30. The program would provide these owners with resources to navigate how to apply for and win city contracts, essentially building on the model for the current Minority Women Business Enterprise (M/WBE) program.
According to the 2025 city comptroller report, only 5% ($2.4 billion out of $46 billion) of citywide procurement is actually awarded to M/WBEs. Businesses specifically owned by “women of color and Black and Hispanic American men” win far fewer contracts than others, said the report.
Assembly Member Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, who chairs the New York State Assembly’s Subcommittee on Oversight of Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises, confirmed that there’s more than $20 billion in state funding allocated for businesses overall and very few Black and Brown business owners are successful in getting these lucrative opportunities. To counteract that, Bichotte Hermelyn said she pushed legislation in 2025 to raise the discretionary funding threshold for MWBEs for state agencies to $1.5 million.
“That means that an agency can give you up to $1.5 million. You don’t have to go and compete with those white firms,” she said. “That’s what we do. We find ways to break barriers so that you, you, you, you, can have an easier access because all these years they make it hard for us. So that’s some things that we put in place.”
She spoke about the process of getting M/WBE certified and suggested contacting the city’s small business services hubs or an elected official if an applicant has an issue. Once certified, a business owner is placed on a list with a North American Industry Classification (NAIC) code. The city usually solicits these specific business groups for contracting procurement, she said.
She encouraged every entrepreneur to move and network with government agencies as much as possible to meet the people making decisions on their contracts in person. She also suggested having an alternative means of financing, since some banks are reluctant to approve loans for Black small business owners.
“There’s a lot of opportunities for our people out there, but the most important step is being informed and then being organized,” said Riley. “We’re innovative, we’re creative, we’re smart.”
Youth advocate Joshua Dieudonne, a driving force behind the MYBE legislation, added: “When we are not informed, that’s when we mess up. When we don’t go through the proper channels, that’s when catastrophe happens. And that’s when they say that we can’t do anything right. So we want to make sure we go to the right channels and make sure that we’re using our influence for good and to do the right thing.”
The event featured Black small business owners and electeds talking about their experiences with getting M/WBE certified and finding reliable information about government contracting.
Many were determined to persevere no matter the obstacles. Aaliyah Duah, who is the CEO of Financial Revolutionn, said, “Sometimes what happens is when something is a talent for you, you start to think that it’s easy for everybody. So you underestimate your work. Don’t do that. Because you sell yourself short. You need to understand that you have a gift. And when you have a gift, sometimes a gift can become your purpose.”
Assembly Member Chantel Jackson, who chairs the Black Legislative Task Force, sponsored the state version of the MYBE bill. “We are the culture. We set the standard. We do all the things, but then we don’t make the money off it. We watch a lot of other people make the money off of the things that we have created,” said Jackson.
For more information, go to the city’s Small Business Services website or the state’s Office of General Services for more info on government contract resources.
You can also check out the city’s M/WBE program or the state’s M/WBE hub to get resources for certification.
