Small, Minority-Owned Businesses Pitch Services to City of Cambridge at Supplier Diversity Fair

45 minority, women, and veteran-owned small businesses gathered to pitch their services to representatives from the City of Cambridge at the city’s third Supplier Diversity Fair on Monday afternoon.

Monday’s event was the first time city employees were the sole solicitors of services from vendors. In the past, buyers at the fair included biotechnology companies and universities such as Harvard and MIT.

The city’s Department of Economic Development organized the event in an effort to boost economic growth by partnering with local and diverse businesses.

“The word diversity has this funk on it. But the reality is, the city benefits from a healthy, competitive vendor pool. We, by law, looked at our data and saw that we did not utilize the vendors, the minority business enterprises, that were available to us,” said Allyson J. Allen, who manages the department.

Allen said that forming contracts with diverse businesses introduces competition to Cambridge’s economy, which improves the quality of goods and services for customers.

Vendors pitched services for perennial city needs, such as rainwater treatment, while also discussing the creation of new city projects such as a grant for a caterers’ training program.

Both city officials and business owners said they preferred to network in-person. Vendors said that coordinating virtual meetings is difficult, especially for small businesses with limited staff.

Sergio M. Espinoza, who founded Manka, a consulting firm for caterers and restaurants, said that in-person events are more efficient than those held online.

“From a small business perspective, we're able to do probably a week's worth of networking in an hour,” Espinoza said.

Idalia Cuevas, a manager at the Cambridge Public Library, said the event helped her meet vendors she had never heard of before, including one that sold gluten-free food products.

“I’m thinking of an event that we were planning where we were having a difficult time providing gluten-free and nut-free products. It would have been great to have this information, and I’m so grateful that I have it now,” Cuevas said.

The fair is part of a larger effort by the city to partner with diverse businesses. For years, the city has offered online business development workshops through its Department of Economic Opportunity and Development.

Pardis Saffari, who directs the department, said that the fair was an opportunity to address historical exclusion of minorities, women, and veterans.

“​​Increasing our local procurement with small and diverse businesses provides a more equitable economy and spreads wealth to traditionally disadvantaged businesses,” Saffari said.

Vendors said they were excited by the city’s outreach to small businesses.

“In the city, there’s so many different opportunities for bigger companies to take. And when you have things like this, you give the people — in this case, you give the City of Cambridge — an opportunity to see all of the different smaller companies,” Tory K. Preston-Djamboe, founder of Tpress Films, said.

“I think it’s awesome. And that’s pretty much what the City of Cambridge stands for,” Preston-Djamboe added.