Gov. Mike Braun announced the launch of the new Indiana Small Business Program on Sept. 30.
According to a statement, this program is intended to strengthen the Hoosier small business environment and to promote and facilitate the participation of Indiana small businesses in state procurement.
“Indiana’s small businesses are the engine of the Hoosier economy, and we are committed to supporting their continued growth and success,” Braun said. “Small businesses are ready to do business with the state, and we are making that easier than ever.”
To participate in the program, businesses must generate no more than $10 million in annual gross receipts averaged over the last two years and also meet at least one of the following criteria listed below:
- Be registered as a domestic business with the Indiana Secretary of State.
- Pay a majority of its payroll, in dollar volume, to Indiana residents.
- Employ Indiana residents as a majority of its employees.
- Make significant capital investments in Indiana.
Local officials see this program as a pathway for Indiana’s small businesses to gain access to more resources and opportunities for growth.
“This program gives the state an opportunity to strengthen participation by Indiana small businesses while maintaining the competition and accountability that are essential to responsible procurement,” said Indiana Secretary of Management and Budget Lisa Hershman. “Our focus is on creating a program that is practical for businesses, workable for agencies, and delivers value for Hoosier taxpayers.”
According to a statement from officials, the expansion of the existing Buy Indiana program is intended to assist more local businesses in qualifying to receive points in resource procurement.
The Buy Indiana initiative, established by Executive Order 05-05, was established to set a goal for state agencies to procure 90 cents ($.90) of each dollar from Indiana businesses.
“State procurement can be a valuable pathway to growth for Indiana’s small and entrepreneurial businesses, and creating meaningful access to those contracting opportunities can help more of them compete,” said Vanessa Green Sinders, president and CEO of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce. “As the new program is implemented, the Indiana Chamber looks forward to working with the administration and business community to evaluate how it is working in practice and help ensure the experiences of Indiana businesses inform its continued development.”
The Indiana Small Business program launches following Braun’s announcement in July that Indiana will end race- and sex-based contracting goals following a legal opinion from Attorney General Todd Rokita finding race- and sex-based contracting goals in the Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (M/WBE) components of Indiana’s Diversity Business Enterprises Program “un-American and unconstitutional”.
In that statement Braun also spoke about how M/WBE contracting would be replaced with “a merit-based approach that gives every Hoosier business a fair opportunity to compete.”
“Our Constitution mandates equal protection under the law, because a system where the government picks winners and losers on the basis of race or sex can never be fair,” Braun said. “Indiana has replaced divisive, politically-charged programs with a focus on Merit, Excellence, and Innovation: a level playing field where every single Hoosier has the chance to get ahead with hard work.”
For more information and application instructions visit in.gov/idoa/.
Contact Staff Writer Malik Simon at 317-762-7847.
Malik Simon is a Staff Writer for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Memphis, TN, he graduated from Mississippi Valley State University with a Bachelor of Arts in General Studies concentrating on journalism. Before joining the Recorder, he wrote for the Devil’s Gazette newspaper at MVSU and served as a freelance content and video editor. He seeks to use media to help communities flourish through literacy and factual reporting.
